


Tasting Happiness

by kipnotize



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst, Eren goes insane, F/F, F/M, Female Hanji Zoe, Fluff, Hanji ships it hardcore, King!Levi, M/M, Mythology - Freeform, Research has been done, Royalty, So much angst, Vampires go through heats, War and rebellion, if you catch my drift ;), seriously this fic needs to cool it, slowbuild, vampire!levi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-15
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-03-07 15:14:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 50
Words: 135,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3176661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kipnotize/pseuds/kipnotize
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone is told that somewhere out there, they have a soulmate. Someone to love and who'd love them, someone to share the rest of their lives with, and very, very rarely, someone with fangs and a weakness to silver. </p><p>Vampire King Levi Ackerman has waited ten years before finally choosing his mate, the annoyingly tall brat with the burning eyes. And yet, instead of living the promised peaceful life, fate plays its hand and twists the lives of these two dorks with perhaps the greatest trump card there could've been... Coexistence is being threatened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know I said I'd stop posting on AO3, but I changed my mind, so live with me.

Eren's POV

"Hurry up, Eren!" I jumped slightly at the voice, but it wasn't my sister's words that had put me into such a nervous mood. My hands were shaking as I straightened my hair out, sucking in a breath of air before huffing it out and glancing at myself in the mirror one last time before leaving.

I didn't usually get worked up about the graduation ceremonies, though I was always thrilled to move up a year and rank in Shiganshina. But this was different, this was the first time I'd be attending the private 18th ceremony, and I found myself struggling to keep my breaths even as I finally gave up on my hair and made my way downstairs to where Mikasa was waiting for me.

"About time! Now come on, you look fine, and besides- they told us to dress semi-casually anyway. For most people, this is just like any other graduation." I bit my lip, nodding.

It was true, for most of us in the 18th year we would be taking one last year of education services before we were able to find work, so we were told to behave as if it were any other graduation ceremony. However, for the rare few... This ceremony needed to be held separately, because all ceremonies were outside.

For the rare few, this ceremony needed to be void of sunlight.

I allowed Mikasa to push me into her car and take off before I finally spoke, and when I did I was proud that the quiver in my voice was barely noticeable.

"...If one of us is chosen tonight..." I gulped as my sister sent me a sharp look, but after a moment of staring down at my hands I cleared my throat and tried again. "If one of is chosen, will we still see each other after?"

"...I don't know, Eren..." I bit my lip and slumped back into my seat, because that was the answer Armin had given too. Outside the window the night life was normal, full of lights and sounds and a whirlwind of happiness and laughter. To them, what occurred tonight held no importance, though I knew there would be one brief mention in the paper tomorrow- 'Vampire King Still to Choose a Bride.'

"If you got chosen by a vampire, would you want them to bite you?" The question received a sharp look from Mikasa, but after a long moment she did answer quietly.

"I don't know. If we're chosen, they're supposed to be our soul mates, right? So over time, at least, I may want that..." I frowned, tapping at the center console as I continued to watch the outside world pass by us. We had exited downtown now and were steadily approaching the large amphitheater where all graduation ceremonies where held, a large chunk bitten out of a hill to provide the elevation for a stage.

When we arrived there was only a quiet murmur as we found our seats in front of the for now empty stage, a blaring difference from last year's graduation. The tension in the air was thick enough that it forced us to tear at it to move, worries of getting chosen and not getting chosen being flung between us.

What if we were chosen? That would mean we had been deemed part of the rare few who could please a vampire, a dying race with their stubbornness to only choose the best of us as mates. But then again, if they were choosing us, were we really soul mates? No, no, don't think like that, we would have to be. And would our soul mate want to bite us immediately? Would we like them? We would have to, right? We were supposed to be soul mates... Right? 

But then, what if we weren't chosen? Another year of schooling before being sent into the working world, the realization that we had to find our own soul mate. For some, their soul mate and them would never meet, and those people would usually lead lonely lives. That or they would be the kind of person to have so many on-agains off-agains that you could never keep track of who they were in 'love' with.

My anxious thoughts were cut off as the murmur of the audience died suddenly, and I raised my head to stare wide-eyed at the stage where dark shadows of people were seeming to poof into existence. I shuddered, averting my eyes as was taught from an early age should you happen to have the honor of seeing a vampire, and Mikasa reached over and squeezed my hand. We hadn't been able to find Armin or even Jean, so we sat alone amongst the crowd of people far out-weighting the few dark figures on stage.

There appeared to only be five or six of them, and as I slowly gained the courage to examine them the best I could from where I sat-I mean, if no one caught me, it wasn't showing too much disrespect-I began to notice that they were anything by dark. My first impression was gained from the cloaks they wore, but as they removed their hoods I was shocked by the way the moon made their deathly pale skin glow.

Their eyes were sunken and dark, and the tips of their fangs glinted from where they peeked out over their bottom lips. They all seemed to be waiting for something, even the Announcer who had taken to the stage was doing nothing as they waited, and after a moment I leaned over to Mikasa.

"What are they waiting for?" I kept my voice hushed, and when my sister replied she did so in a tone lower than mine.

"Their king. They're waiting for the Vampire King, though I don't know why. He never chooses anyone..." I frowned, and as that same thought began to spread over the rest of us sitting and waiting I raised my head once more to watch the stage. 

If I wasn't chosen than this would be my only chance to look at a vampire, look and frown and try to imagine why they were considered so honorable. There was a time we would have hunted them down, and it was that massacre that I knew was responsible for the vampire's fading existence, not the fact that they were picky when choosing mates. The only vampire not to have chosen a mate when it was their turn was the King, and who knew where he was now...

...The eyes I had just met with were not eyes I had examined earlier. I jerked my head down as another murmur shot through the audience, because the King was here and was the only vampire to have taken a seat, and as I gained the courage to look up again I caught sight of the other vampires and the Announcer bowing deeply before standing straight. The graduation ceremony was beginning, and for the most part it appeared as if the vampires would be ignored. But then...

"Historia Reiss." A normal calling, average walk up the stairs and on to the stage as the petit girl was given a small pin just like every year before, the only difference being the 18 painted onto it in shimmering letters. She had almost made her way off the stage when one of the vampires shifted, and slowly they made their way over to the Announcer and leaned over to whisper into his ear. A nod, and then Historia was being called to wait, and the Announcer spoke again. "Historia Reiss, chosen by Ymir. Good luck and good fortune."

I watched in awe as Historia nodded and offered a small smile to whom I took to be Ymir, and the vampire nodded and waltzed right over to the girl and grabbed her by the wrist before they both were gone, and a yelp was heard as the graduation ceremony carried on.

It was about three-fourths of the way through, with another two people chosen and whisked off by their soul mates, when I met his eyes again. I didn't mean to, I swear I didn't, I only wanted a better glimpse of the Vampire King. He stared straight back at me, his gaze freezing me to the spot, and distantly I felt Mikasa nudge me in an attempt to bring me back to earth. The King's eyes seemed to practically glow in the darkness, clashing with the other vampires I had seen with their dark shadows of eyes. 

After a long moment I was able to break eye contact with the King, though I felt his eyes on me still, and I took a brief moment to examine his regal but still dark clothes and the expression of utter boredom clear on his face before looking back at Mikasa. She had already received her pin perhaps an hour ago with a last name beginning with 'A', and I was hit by the sudden bitterness as I realized I wouldn't be going until the very end of the ceremony.

"Hey, Mikasa..." She looked over at me and raised her eyebrows, and I frowned. "Why hasn't the Vampire King chosen a mate these past ten years?"

"No clue. Now hush, you know it's rude to interrupt a ceremony." I sighed and nodded, and turned my gaze once more to the stage.

Somehow, I was unsurprised to fine the Vampire King still staring at me, and after a long moment of meeting his gaze I raised an eyebrow. He blinked, sitting up a bit straighter from his previous slouched position and looking around him quickly before looking back at me. I bit my lip in an effort not to laugh softly, because after so many years hearing about the reclusive Vampire King, he looked normal to me. 

The King scowled as he caught my amusement, and after another long moment of studying him I turned my gaze back to what was happening on stage. The last vampire had just taken off with their chosen mate, and I tensed as the Announcer neared my name. Though I wouldn't be chosen by a vampire since the only remaining one was the King, it was still nerve-racking and I was always caught with leftover humiliation from the year I tripped on my way up the stairs. 

"Eren." I broke from my nervous trance to look over at Mikasa, who offered me a smile. "It'll be fine. Just don't trip. I'll See you right after, and then we can go home and talk about the vampires like I know you'll be dying to do."

"Thanks, Mikasa. I'm so tired, too, I can't wait to go-"

"Eren Yeager." I bolted upright at the sound of my name, taking a deep breath before making my way up the stairs and onto the amphitheater, concentrating on my feet and trying to block out the feeling of hundreds of eyes on me. I sighed with relief when the pin was given to me, glad it was finally over, and took a single step forward.

A single fucking step.

And then I tripped.

"Shit!" I slapped a hand over my mouth as I stared at the ground, mortified, and then slowly began to sit up as soft snickers made their way through the crowd. I was about to stand up when everyone went silent, frozen, and after a confused look at them I turned to my other side and let out a yelp of surprise.

The Vampire King was standing over me, watching me carefully before slowly reaching out a hand to help me up. I stared at him with wide eyes before accepting the help, and I almost gasped at the coldness of his hand when my shaking one made contact with it. With no effort at all he pulled me to my feet, and as I prayed that I would live to survive this I almost let out a dry laugh at what a story this would make. I steeled my nerves and then turned back to where I could exit the stage, in the process dipping my head in thanks and respect as I pulled at my hand.

It wouldn't budge. 

I turned back to look at him, frowning, and tried once more to free my hand from his iron grip. But he wasn't even looking at me, and I stumbled as he pulled me forward in an effort to get closer to the Announcer. There was a moment of continued tense silence before the King opened his mouth, and for the first time in ten years humans heard the voice of the Vampire King.

"I want this one." It took everyone five long seconds to process what that meant, to realize that through all these years the King had indeed planned on choosing a mate after all, and once those thoughts shoved themselves through our minds everyone sprang into noise and action.

I spun to find Mikasa's eyes in the crowd, wide with terror and surprise as she bolted from her seat as the crowd erupted in a mixture of excited and frightened cries. I jerked my head to look back at the Announcer as he spoke again, and I just barely caught the end of his words before the world dissolved around me, taking me away from everything I knew.

"Eren Yeager, chosen by His Majesty. Good luck and good fortune."


	2. Chapter 2

Levi's POV

He was too tall. Ten years of waiting, and he was too fucking tall. It was all I could think of as I warped us out of that boring as fuck ceremony, though my attention was quickly stolen by the said too-fucking-tall brat I was holding the hand of as the great hall of my castle came into focus. I released his hand immediately, not caring it was the only thing keeping him on his feet and letting him fall to the ground as I slapped both hands over my nose and mouth.

I took a cautionary step backwards as he stood up, but he didn't seem to care or maybe just didn't register the way I leaned away from him as he ranted about giving him a fucking warning before warping him. None of his words quite registered with me, but I could get a pretty good idea of how pissed he was by the speed at which his blood was rushing through him, and I tightened my hands over my lower face and shut my eyes.

"Are you even listening to me?" My eyes snapped back open, glinting with annoyance.

"No, and I'm not going to until you calm the fuck down! Shit, kid, do you have any idea how hot your blood gets when you're worked up?" He fell silent, anger replaced with stunned silence, and I sighed and dropped my hands as he began to calm down. His heart was still beating a mile a minute, but I had heard of humans that screamed and tried to run away when they were chosen, so I guess this was okay.

"...Sorry?" I waved him away, turning on my heel and beginning to lead him up to my room, but he snatched my wrist before I could go anywhere. I turned to look at him slowly, unamused, and he jerked back immediately. "Sorry! Um, do you think maybe you could get, I don't know, like a crown or a bell or something? To remind you you're royalty? O-oh, shit, right!"

His heart rate sped up again as he rushed into a clumsy bow, but I simply frowned and focused on not letting the smell of his blood overpower my senses again. I almost didn't make out the scent of Erwin warping into the room, and I snorted and rolled my eyes as he staggered back after coming into being next to me.

"W-wow. That's a bit..." He swallowed, and I scowled and kicked at his shin as I noticed his eyes fixed on the brat still frozen in a ridiculous attempt at respect. "My apologies, Levi, but you must be having a hard time ignoring it..."

"Who the fuck wouldn't? And apparently his blood never cools down, either." The brunet lifted his head slightly to look at us with bewilderment clear on his face, but I ignored him. "Did your mate smell this strongly at first?"

"No, it's probably his blood type, or else I wouldn't be affected. You had quite the luck, though, getting someone who smells that good." I hummed in agreement, and after another moment the human in the room stood hesitantly and cleared his throat.

"Sorry for the disrespect, Your Highness, but I'd prefer it if you and your friend didn't talk about me as an object. I'm like, five feet away." We stared at him for a moment before Erwin burst into laughter, and as he calmed down slightly he slapped my shoulder as his eyes stayed set on Eren.

"Good luck with this one! I'm glad you finally chose someone, though. The kingdom was beginning to worry." I rolled my eyes as he warped out, probably off to find Hanji to tell her I wasn't a failure after all, then sighed as I met eyes with the too-fucking-tall boy once more.

"Tch. Fine." He raised an eyebrow, and I let out an exasperated sigh and crossed my arms as I dropped my head back to stare at the ceiling. "Eren Yeager. How long ago you turn eighteen?" 

"O-oh, um, just a couple months ago... Is it important?" I hummed indifference, keeping my eyes unfocused.

"I can't bite you until at least half a year after you're eighteen. Those who don't wait usually end up rolling around constipated for whatever reason." I groaned as he began to grow anxious again, rolling my head to up and to the side slightly to look at him. "Please tell me you can learn how to keep relatively calm between now and then."

"I-I don't know... Do you... Are you really going to bite me so soon?" I raised an eyebrow, and he waved his arms around uselessly as he blurted out whatever shit had been rolling around in his head. "I know it's a huge honor to be chosen, especially by the King, I mean, um, wow, thanks? But I'm not really a fan of pain, ya know? And it just sounds like having two really sharp teeth tear into my throat and suck out all my blood-"

He cut himself off as he registered the shaking of my shoulders and the smile barely hidden by my hands, and I let my laughter become slightly audible for a moment as he watched me with mild confusion. At that moment Erwin warped back with Hanji at his side, and I cursed my luck as I struggled to stifle my laughter.

"Oh! Look! Look at that! How long has it been Erwin? It couldn't have been more than two minutes, and look at him! Look at him, Erwin! Somehow, this kid got him to laugh!" I finally managed to mask my previous amusement and scowl as Hanji squealed and rushed up to Eren, but before coming to a complete stop she looped around him and ran back in the opposite direction. "And holy aunt Josephina, that's blood!"

"Why do you think I warped all the way over here? I have no idea how Levi's able to stand that close to him and not jump him." My attention flicked back to Eren as his eyes grew wide with terror, and I didn't miss the small step back he took.

"U-um, is that a valid concern?" There was a breath of silence before the hall echoed with Hanji's cackle of a laugh, and she pinched her nose before coming up to me and swinging an arm around my shoulders.

"Oh, that's a keeper! I'm so proud of you for choosing so well, even if it took you ten years! Now don't you ever get rid of this kid, you hear me?" I rolled my eyes and threw the crazed vampire off of me, crossing my arms and glaring down at her as I stomped on her and watched her gasp for air.

"It's not like I can get rid of him anyway, batshit." Erwin chuckled and Eren watched with slight horror as Hanji began to choke, looking up at me with wide eyes.

"I c-can't breathe! L-Levi!" I snorted and increased the pressure I was putting on her before stepping off of her and kicking her away, sniffing with annoyance and contempt.

"Not like you need much air, anyway, shitty four-eyes. Though perhaps you'd like to try to properly act dead?" She immediately broke out into laughter, giving up on her dramatic facade. 

"W-wait, what just happened?" Hanji's laughter grew until she was almost howling, and even I huffed out an amused breath through my nose at the brunet's clueless state.

"We're not what you'd call living creatures, brat. I thought they taught you about us- you must be incapable of retaining any information. It's a wonder you knew your name and was able to recognize it at that fucking ceremony." He frowned and Hanji seemed to be caught between wanting to scold me for insulting my chosen mate and wanting to laugh harder, but I ignored her.

"You know, for a king of a supposedly incredibly honorable race, you're more than a little rude. And you can't be too smart either, can you? I mean, at least I don't use insults at the level of a fourth-year. What are you, seven? With your height you could pass as maybe a year younger." The room fell silent, but I held up a hand to motion for Hanji and Erwin to stop when they moved to pull Eren aside. It was well known that I didn't take shit from anyone, but as the taller boy didn't even flinch under my burning glare I let my muscles relax and I tilted my head back, almost amused.

"Not bad, kid.." He blinked, and I let my lips tilt upwards slightly and ignored how he tensed as my fangs glinted. "Just remember, brat- I am dead. After so long, you get real fucking tired of taking the world's shit. But so long as you don't insult my height again, I think we'll get along just fine."


	3. Chapter 3

Eren's POV

I think the next twelve hours went pretty smoothly. 

I mean, of course there were a few bumps in the road- why wouldn't there be? I had been chosen, which was a great honor in itself, and on top of that I had been chosen by the King, so supposedly that meant I had been granted the highest of honors or some shit like that.

In reality, there was just a lot of heavy silence, nurturing unasked questions and hesitating glances. After the incredibly over the top vampire had left us again with her huge blond friend, we stood facing each other in silence, and I noted blankly that the King seemed to lean towards me slightly after I had calmed down. Not to say I was calm, per say, but I no longer felt as if my every breath was laboring to keep up with the beating of my heart from anxiety and fear. So... What now?

After a long moment, the shorter vampire turned and beckoned for me to follow him, and I did so until he stopped outside the door to what I could only believe was the tallest tower in the castle if the winding spiral staircases we had traipsed up were anything to go by (I hadn't let him warp me). Again we stood in silence, interrupted only when the pale figure in front of me took a breath to say something before thinking better of it and closing his mouth.

Instead he simply opened the door to the tower room and stepped aside to let me in, and I felt my breath catch in my throat as I took in the room. It was rounded as the tower was, but in no way was it cramped and was instead spacious and large. Heavy curtains fell in front of large French doors that presumably led to a balcony, and the desk created to run along the curve of the wall on one side of the French doors housed a computer large enough to double as a television and quite a few books, though everything was kept meticulously neat.

That orderliness spilled out throughout the room, over the bookcases wrapping around the room filled with thick volumes and over the dresser to the side of a grandiose canopy bed; over the nightstand on the other side of the magnificent bed and over, well, everything. The regality of the room and they way it was designed to look large but cozy drew out a sigh of contentment from me, though part of me wished that there were some brighter colors instead of everything being dark red or black. 

"W-wow..." I was suddenly very aware of the vampire's eyes on me, and I swallowed and took a deep breath in an effort to keep my heartbeat at a fairly normal tempo. While I didn't understand how my blood's smell could have such an effect on the vampires, I would very much rather not have them mention it every two minutes.

"Do you like it?" I blinked and turned back to look at the Vampire King, still standing in the doorway of the room and watching me with uneasy eyes. 

"Are you kidding? It's amazing! It's beautiful..." I let a smile tug my lips into a soft grin as I crossed the room to push the velvet curtain to the side slightly, expecting a fairly decent view of the stars and being blown away as I was met with a view a million times better. 

Sprawling hills and houses and towers carpeted the land stretching out until the glimmering lights on the ground grew sparse, and the mountain range we had been taught never to cross was suddenly viewed from a whole new perspective yet it looked so much the same... The sky was littered with flitting shadows, bats that would dart in front of the moon every so often as I stared up at it. After a long moment I turned back to the vampire still watching me, large grin plastered across my face, and he let out a small breath before making his way to the bed.

"Good." As I watched him he removed the tall combat boots he had been wearing and burrowed into the bed, and even through my confusion I felt a flicker of amusement when the vampire seemed to shrink even smaller in the bed way too large for him.

"U-um... What are you doing?" He opened one eye and turned his head slightly to look at me, clearly unamused at having his rest disturbed.

"This is my bed. Going to your boring-ass ceremony left me exhausted, so I am going to sleep. Do you have a problem with that, brat?" I blinked, then blinked again. If this was his room, then...

"Where am I supposed to sleep?" Now it was his turn to let his expression morph into one of confusion, and for the first time I noticed the way he had kept himself to one side of the bed. "You don't expect me to sleep... With you?"

"Where the fuck else? Isn't that how this works?" I raised my eyebrows, and suddenly I was under the impression that I wasn't the only one who had no clue where to go now that I had been chosen. "I chose you, we're supposed to be soul mates? That means lovers, right?"

"U-um... I think? Yes? Uh, yes." He nodded, almost to himself, and then closed his eyes again, believing he had settled the matter. I stood for a moment more at the window before sighing, slipping my hands into my pockets and bouncing on the balls of my feet, skimming my eyes around around the room briefly before clearing my throat. "Al-righty then. I'll just, um, can I go find a guest room for now? That would be okay, right...?"

"What? The fuck did I just say?" Both his eyes were open now, frown clear even with half his face obscured by the blankets. "I thought lovers shared beds. Is it different with humans?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Just get in the fucking bed, shit for brains." I tensed, taking a deep breath to once more attempt to keep myself relatively calm before slowly making my way to the bed and slipping under the covers on the other side of the bed, very thankful for the size of the bed and the space it allowed me to put between us.

It wasn't that I was against, er, the whole lovers concept, but... Well, that was the first bump in the road those first twelve hours. Though I had been chosen, though I was aware I had been granted an honor most would not dream of, I could not so easily fall into the life suggested by lore. So after a moment I sighed, and I heard the vampire shift on the other side of the bed.

"Um, Your Highness...?" The vampire said nothing, but I could tell without turning that he had turned onto his other side to look at me. "Thank you for choosing me. I'm honored to have been deemed worthy by you... But... If you would allow it, I would prefer that we don't act as lovers so soon."

"Why?" I bit my lip, then flipped over onto my other side as well so that I could meet his eyes. It was the first time I had gotten a good look at him so close, and I felt my brow crease as I took in the way his pale skin and glinting eyes stood out among the darkness in the room.

"Well, I mean, we don't even know each other... Something like this is okay, I guess, but I don't think I'd be comfortable doing other things until we know each other a bit better." The vampire sighed, closing his eyes but not letting his expression relax.

"Define, 'other things'." I stiffened and choked over my words, feeling my face warm up and blankly noting the Vampire King on the other side of the bed stiffen and bury his nose in the blankets.

"I-I, uh, you know! Don't make me say things like that!" He raised an eyebrow, but with most of his face hidden in the blankets he looked ridiculous.

"Oh. You mean sex." He winced as my face burned and my heart raced, embarrassment speeding it up with every second I felt the King's eyes on me. "No need to be so worked up, brat. I'm not going to do anything you don't want. We may as well set boundaries, then."

I sighed, relieved that he planned on letting me set my own pace for this whole 'soul mates' thing, but before I could relax completely the vampire moved to grab my hand. His expression was indifferent as he laced our fingers together, but I could feel my own face flushing once more.

"Is this okay?" I opened my mouth to reply, but after finding that no words would allow themselves to be choked up I closed my mouth again and simply nodded weakly. 

His hand was cold, almost too cold, but even though the touch was meant to be intimate I could feel the hesitance in it. He really was just testing what I was okay with, and it was better he do so now then when he actually meant what was supposed to be behind the gesture. He was right after all- we were supposed to be lovers.

Slowly I curled my fingers around his, and when I was finally able to tear my eyes away from where they had been fixed on our intertwined fingers laying between us I glanced up at the vampire to see that he was staring just as hard at our hands as well.

"Your hand is so warm..." I blinked in surprise at the muttered comment, and after a moment more the king'sl gaze flicked up to meet mine. "Is this what the Sun feels like? To humans?"

"What? Oh..." I felt my expression soften with pity for the creature that had never seen the Sun, had never basked in its warmth, had never even seen the way the world looked lit up. "No... The Sun is much warmer. If you sit in its light long enough, it'll burn you."

"Humans too? How long can you stay in the Sun?" I let out a breathy laugh and tightened my grip on his hand, closing my eyes as I smiled.

"No, no, not in the sense vampires burn. Our skin turns a bit red, but that's only if we sit in direct sunlight for an extended period of time without any sunscreen." I opened my eyes and my grin grew wider at his bewildered expression, and somewhere in the back of my mind I wondered how many bottles of sunscreen it would take to let the Vampire King see the Sun.

"What the fuck is that?" I hummed, suddenly faced with the challenge of describing completely new things to someone. 

"It's like... This white cream, and when you rub it all over your skin the Sun can't burn you." The vampire bolted into a sitting position at my words, eyes wide with something resembling wonder.

"Really? Just like that? Do you have sunscreen with you now? Where do you get it?" I laughed again, then tugged the Vampire King back down onto the bed, looping an arm around his waist and humming to myself when he didn't protest. After all, he wasn't the only one who had to test what the other was comfortable with.

"If you let me visit my friends and family, I'll buy some for you, but I don't know if it'll work..." He sighed, deflating slightly before scooting slightly closer and resting his head on my chest, closing his eyes with a quiet contentment.

"Right. Visiting... You're really really warm. It's fucking ridiculous." I laughed, now realizing the real reason he had scooted closer- he was cold. Idiot. I let him press his body flush against mine, not even trying to hide the fact that he was trying to leech off my warmth. After a few minutes of silence, enough that I was beginning to feel my eyelids grow heavy, he turned his head to press a slightly pointed ear against my chest, sighing with content. "I can do this lover thing, I think."

"Hm?" He sighed, tapping out a nameless tune on my chest next to his head where his hand rested.

"It's not complete shit, at least, if you're so fucking warm and your heart's so loud." The words only barely registered in my mind, and right as I slipped off into a dreamless sleep I became aware of one last thing.

He wasn't breathing. 

That idiotic vampire had stopped breathing so that he could come closer undisturbed by the scent of my blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can totally see Levi 100% confused as to how he was supposed to 'do this lover thing'- am I the only one? Anyway, the next few chapters will be these two cuties bumbling around as they try to figure out what to do with each other.


	4. Chapter 4

Levi's POV

Burning. I was on fire, and as I bolted up in bed I squinted and tried to find where the sunlight was coming from. There had to be some somewhere, because never had I felt so warm without my skin peeling away, without falling half to ash, without- oh.

Oh.

I sighed as I dropped back onto the bed, closing my eyes and almost laughing in relief. I had been amazed at how warm he was last night, hadn't I? It was pleasant enough to stop the habit of mimicking the breath of the living, though I did miss the useless breaths in and out. If I tried hard enough while breathing, I could pretend I was alive.

I could pretend I was normal.

I was dragged from my thoughts as the human the cause of my violent wake-up call began to stir, and with the movement came a half-asleep groan. I sat back up in bed to watch him stretch before opening his eyes, cloudy with sleep and confusion.

"Wha...?" He looked at me blankly, then squinted, and I let out a short breath through my nose in amusement when his eyes grew comically wide as he realized what had happened and where he was. "O-oh. Hi. Morning... Or... What? What time is it? It's so dark..."

"Vampire, idiot." So much for pretending to be normal. 

"Oh! Sorry. Forgot." He frowned, twisting the blanket between his fingers. "If you don't mind, Your Highness, can I ask if I have to become nocturnal too?"

"Shitty brat, of course you have to stay on my sleep schedule." He frowned, but I thought the reasoning was perfectly obvious. "If you get up at dawn, you'll wake me up."

"...O-kay then! Good to know the Vampire Kingdom has such a generous and humble king." I snorted at the sarcastic mumble, and he stuck out his tongue at me before sighing. "Ughhh... It feels so unnatural getting up in pitch darkness. How can you see anything?"

"What? It's not that dark..." I frowned and looked around the room, the creases in my face drawing deeper as I was able to see everything just as well as I could last dawn.

"Yeah, well, hate to break it to you Your Highness, but I'm human. Do you have a lamp or flashlight or something?" I blinked and looked down at him, suddenly fascinated with how he could go so easily from nearly cowering out of respect and unsureness last dawn to this. It was amusing, and I very much enjoyed the Eren that bit out sarcastic remarks every time he opened his mouth.

I hummed and looked around the room, leaning over to the nightstand after catching the glint of the lamp on top of it. I hissed when I had turned it on, flinching back and instantly growing irritable, but Eren simply yawned and bounced out of bed. He bent his back as he stretched and groaned, rubbing at his eyes when he straightened and finally bothering to give me a concerned glance, but I remained where I had dived under the covers with only my face peeking out to watch him. He blinked in surprise, then glanced at the lamp.

"Do other types of light affect you too?" I sighed, sinking deeper into the bed.

"Are you offering to turn it off?" He shook his head, and I scowled. "Get the fuck out of here, brat."

He frowned but did as I said, and after he had left the room I sighed with relief and snaked an arm out of my bundle of blankets to turn off the lamp. I bathed and dressed relatively quickly, unsure how long it was okay to leave someone who was supposed to be your lover out in a darkened hallway. Most of the hallways and main rooms had some sort of dim light, so that wasn't really a problem. However...

I didn't bother walking down the spiraling staircase when I was finished getting ready for the night, instead warping to Eren's side and hissing at the young maid who had grown close, intoxicated in the smell of my mate's blood. She jerked back into reality after seeing me, though while her eyes grew wide with surprise and fear they were still cloudy, and I scowled and huffed and raised my upper lip slightly to show off my fangs. She stiffened and warped away immediately, and I started when Eren poked my shoulder.

"Please don't make that face again, Your Highness. It was terrifying." I blinked, confused, but he didn't seem to understand that that had been the point. Fucking brat.

"Fine. Next time I'll let the maid bite you, if you're so keen on that idea." He stiffened before shrinking back into himself, and I found myself regretting my harsh tone. 

We stood in silence for a moment before I hesitantly reached out and rested a slim finger on his arm, warping us down to the dinning room. I flinched as we arrived, expecting a scolding for not giving him a warning, but he simply shot me a displeased glare before sitting down in the nearest chair.

"Not there." He raised both eyebrows, letting his annoyance and sleepiness show through the expression. "I sit at the head of the table. You're supposed to sit on one of my sides?"

"Do you have any idea as to what we're supposed to do as mates?" I frowned and hesitated before shaking my head, and he sighed. "Look around, Your Highness. What do you see?"

I skimmed my eyes over the few vampires in the nearly empty dining room, the odd maid scuttling about to serve someone, the darkness. The table was large enough and Eren was calm enough that his blood didn't seem to be affecting anyone, though a withered old lord a few seats down paused to sniff his meal before dipping his fangs into the glass and downing the blood. If I bothered to look past the heavy curtains covering a large window behind us I would see men from the royal guard, shifting into bats and swarming the sky.

"Nothing out of place. What the fuck are you trying to prove?" He sighed, but before he could say anything one of the maids chose that exact moment to curtesy before placing goblets of blood before us, and I hummed in satisfaction as I raised the cup to my lips to drink. Before I could even dip my fans into the thick red of the meal, though, Eren had bolted from his seat, hands over his mouth and eyes wide, and I let the goblet fall from my hands as I was suddenly very desperate to halt my breath once more to avoid the smell of how hot his blood was as his heart raced.

Across the room one vampire choked and sat rigid in their seat, but before anyone could really react the shitty brat had bolted from the room, and I sighed before trailing after him. 

It was going to be quite a bit harder to keep up this lover thing than I thought.


	5. Chapter 5

Eren's POV

Toilet. I needed to find the toilet, needed to find the-

"Eren! Why hello there!" I said nothing as the eccentric vampire from last night warped into being in front if me, too focused on not relieving my stomach of all its contents before making it to the bathroom to notice the clothes pin she had stuck on her nose to block out the smell of my blood. "What are you doing away from Levi?"

"Please, not now- where's the bathroom?" The words were strained, and I felt the acrid taste of my nausea rise to the back of my throat as I spoke. For the first time in my short time here in the darkness of the Vampire King's castle I watched her frown, and as if suddenly realizing how desperate my need was she jumped forward to grab my arm and warp me to the nearest bathroom, and thank god she warped us right in front of the toilet because fuck that never got any easier and-

Yup. There went my last meal.

The vampire that had been at my side had stepped forward slightly, peering into the toilet with eyes bright with curiosity as I fell to my knees and leaned back, closing my eyes and taking shaky breaths. It was going to be okay. I wouldn't have to drink blood, I wouldn't have to, I wouldn't have to, I could stay human...

"Oh, god, please... Someone take me back. I can't stay here, I can't, I can't, I-"

"Woah, calm down there! You can't seriously be thinking of leaving, can you?" I pried oped my eyes to find the vampire had pulled her head out of the toilet and had fixed me with an accusatory look. "Do you have any idea how long Levi waited for you? He went ten whole years! It would break him if you left-"

"Shut up, shitty glasses." We both started at the new voice, and I hunched down on the floor as the vampire above me flinched. Slowly, we turned to face the Vampire King, watching him swallow as he stared down at his feet. He was leaning heavily against the sink, and I felt guilt coil in my stomach as I connected what the female vampire had said to... To this.

His expression, his posture, his tone of voice. He looked like someone had drained all the aggressiveness from his blood- shit, fuck, don't think about blood again-

I yanked myself back around, only just barely managing to pitch forward towards the toilet as I began to retch. There was nothing to expel but bile, and my throat felt raw when I finally collapsed back onto the ground. I didn't have to look at the Vampire King to know that his eyes would've gotten darker, because she was right and he had waited ten years, had waited so long to find who was supposed to be his soul mate and the human he finally chose couldn't stomach his world.

"I'm so sorry, Your Hi-"

"Go home, Eren." I jerked my head up and around to look at him, but he avoided my eyes. 

"But, you're not allowed to chose a second human-"

"I told you to go home!" The small bathroom echoed with the harshly toned words, and I felt my face begin to heat up with anger. "You don't belong here. None of you do. This was a terrible idea. You're human, and so is every single damn one of my people's mates. And you want to hear something, Eren? They don't tell you this, no one tells you why no one goes back to visit, but I'll tell you."

"Levi, don't-"

"No! He had a right to know. They all had the right to fucking know." He took a shuddering breath, clenching his hands into fists at his side. "After we bite you, you die. You die and become like us, monsters that have never seen the Sun, but you guys are worse. You don't understand, you don't get what happens to you. You go crazy, and eventually you do one of two things. You kill the vampire that bit you, or you kill yourself."

"Levi, that's more than he should-"

"Shut up, Hanji!" Her mouth snapped shut with an audible click, and the Vampire King was furious now, eyes burning and muscles tense. 

His anger coiled around the room, snaking around our necks and squeezing, and suddenly I understood why he was King. This was why, of course it was, didn't we learn this in primary school? There was no such thing as royal blood. King is he who kills and drinks the blood of the former King, and this was why this vampire had been the king for two centuries when most never stayed living for two years. His eyes were as if someone had melted silver and poured the still molten concoction into a pair of glazed over glass orbs, and never before had I been as petrified as I was now.

"Listen well, Eren. Here's the story no one ever tells you, and here's why they never tell you. I'm sure you know of the Blood Wars?" Somehow I was able to nod, easily able to recall easily the memory of that class. The teacher had beat the material into us, so yes I knew about the Blood Wars, knew how many we had lost, knew how terrible they were for us- "We lost those wars."

What? No, no they didn't. We lost, we lost over twenty percent of the population! This couldn't be right...

"We lost so many, so so many- why the hell do you think we're so few? There used to be a vampire for every human alive, and now look at us. Our entire population is corralled between a few mountains, only a few thousand compared to your seven billion." He reached up to run a hand through his hair, pausing in his storytelling, but Hanji made no move to interrupt now. She had slid down the wall next to me, and suddenly it was impossible to catch her eye. "Do you honestly believe we have soul mates?"

"They told us-"

"They lied! After you won the Blood Wars, your government panicked. Suddenly they were realizing how many of your doctors and engineers and teachers were really us, because news flash- we don't give a damn about killing you guys. We're jealous, jealous of your lives and your warmth and your love, and we want it too. For so long we tried to blend in with you, but eventually we failed and most of us were killed.

"But it didn't work out for you guys, either. Suddenly the people you depended on were dead, killed with your own hands, and they lied to you to make you believe that all you lost were humans. They didn't want you to know that they had killed that teacher you loved or the person who invented whatever gadget you idiots obsess over, and so they lied. Five years later, they turned to us for help. We were older, wiser, and they needed help in picking your race off the ground and repairing your wounds. At the time, the Vampire King was my uncle.

"That bastard deserved to die, if you ask me. He sent half of our remaining population to integrate back in with humanity, to help guide you from the shadows, on a single condition. Every year, you would allow us to chose from the humans that were coming of age to find a mate, and through this method we would be able to reproduce and grow in numbers and eventually send more help to your race." 

The anger was gone from his face. Both the king and Hanji looked like shells of what they used to be, lonely and lost and beyond caring that my heart was racing and I was terrified of the Vampire King's next words, so scared not of the truth but of the fact that we had been to lied to for 18 years, and somewhere out there Mikasa and Armin and even Jean were being lied to for the 19th year, and there was nothing I could do, nothing, nothing-

"We were despicable creatures, Eren. We knew what would happen to your kind if they stayed with us too long. We're starving monsters, don't ever forget that, we're hungry for blood and death and the lives you hold above our heads. Kenny-my bastard of an uncle-he was smart. He found the one way he could give us a chance at living like you, and he gave it to us. Each of us would get the chance to find a mate in your race, and if we succeeded then we could live.

"We knew it was cruel to hold you captive with us in the darkness, yet we did so anyway an prayed each day that we would grow to love the mates we had chosen, and they would grow to love us. Then perhaps they could bear to live like we did, and we wouldn't be such monsters. And some of them did. For about half of us, things went well. They were able to reproduce as planned, and the child was like us. Born in the darkness, live in the darkness, I suppose.

"But our mates... They wanted more. They wanted to live like their mate and child, and they asked to be bitten. Did you know that, Eren? Did you know that we never meant to bite anyone? If you didn't come to love us, we would've let you go after you had given us a child. But you asked to be bitten, and we are starving creatures, and so we bit you. You turned without a problem, and some of you even managed to keep your sanity. The rest of you... You lost everything. Some of you blamed those who bit you, some where too far gone to know anything but pain, and so yet another year there were so many deaths.

"We began to choose fewer and fewer humans as mates. They didn't lie to you completely- we do choose only those we think would be the most perfect for us. Those with the highest sense of purpose, those who we believe could survive if they asked to be bitten. And only those who even cared anymore chose in the first place, everyone else tried to find mates within our own people." He looked so pained, so tired, so done, and suddenly I realized what Hanji meant, and I finished the story for him.

"You've waited ten years... And yet you're not one who has given up. You still showed up, year after year, and tried to find someone you thought could survive." I paused, swallowing though my throat was dry. "I was your hope at living normally, happily, wasn't I?"

"Yes. You were." He took a shuddering breath, and I watched with only pity as he failed to piece his mask back together. "But... Just... Go home, Eren. Don't worry about the others that were chosen this year. I'll send them back. I'll break the treaty with your race, too... We won't need any more humans. We should've stopped our killing years ago."

The silence in the bathroom was tense enough to claw at, but instead I pulled myself to stand on shaky legs. The Vampire King sighed, and I realized he probably thought I was ready for him to warp me. I felt my expression soften, and before I could stop myself I had taken the few steps necessary to close the distance between us and slipped my arms around his waist, and I hummed with satisfaction when he was too shocked to warp.

"I won't leave. You waited ten years... I will stay with you. You deserve the same chance as everyone else to live the life you want, so I'll give you this chance." He fell limp in my arms, and I shifted slightly so that I could keep him on his feet. "We'll start over, and if we fall in love before we reach, uh, reproduction, then you get to keep me. Okay?"

"But you'll-"

"I'll be fine. If I fall in love with you, yes. I will ask to be bitten. But I'll be fine. So..." I pulled away, sticking out one hand in front of me. "Hi. I'm Eren Yeager. It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness." I dropped my voice to a whisper, letting a smile tug at my lips. "This is the part where you drop a shitty pick up line and realize I gave you the wrong hand."

He blinked, looking down at my hand, my left hand, and slowly his lips curved upwards as well until he let out a breathy laugh. His eyes were burning, but not with anger, and suddenly someone had been able to give him the hope he had never let himself have, and I grinned at him when he finally took my hand after having calmed down. He bent down into a bow as he brought my hand to his lips, and I shuddered as I found out that his lips were just as cold as the rest of him.

"Excuse me, fair maiden-" I cuffed him over his head with my free hand as he stood up, and both of us paused as we dissolved into quiet laughter again. "-but I seem to have lost my phone number. Could I borrow yours?"

"Oh, god, that was terrible!" He seemed to be fighting urges to both scowl and flinch away, but I brought him into another hug before he could do either. "I loved it. Though do you guys actually have cellphone service out here?"

"Of course we do, idiot." I laughed, and he sighed and relaxed into my hold. 

"Are you okay now?" He hummed, and I squeezed him tight once more before letting him go. As we pulled apart, Hanji cleared her throat, and we both jumped at the noise, having forgotten she was with us. She was grinning when we turned to face her, and she sent the Vampire King a thumbs up before turning to me and rubbing her hands together.

"Now, how about you throw up one last time? I want another sample."


	6. Chapter 6

Levi's POV

After all the shit that happened in that filthy bathroom, I had lost my appetite, but Eren on the other hand had not. Half of me just wanted to tell him to suck it up and deal with it, but a glance at that Shitty Glasses told me that that wasn't what I was supposed to say when my mate was hungry, and even I would've felt like an ass after what he had promised me. The chance for a happy life, normalcy found in the love that was so hard to find for vampires...

So I warped us back to the dining hall, calling over a maid and asking for food Eren could eat. Five minutes later the shitty excuse for a maid came back and shook her head, explaining that with no humans currently staying at the castle until Eren there had been no need to keep any human food around when it would only spoil.

Apparently it never occurred to those dimwits to just warp over the mountains to get some, so now I was forced to do it myself, black hoodie pulled over my face as I let Eren guide me to the nearest 24/7 fast food place. The entire building reeked of grease and disease, and I refused to set a single foot inside the place, so after sighing and checking to make sure he had his wallet he went inside by himself to buy a burger. Apparently the idiot lucked out and had both his phone and wallet in his pockets the night of his Ceremony, so I didn't have to worry about making a pit stop at his house before returning.

Or so I thought.

He came out of the food chain holding a burger he had already begun eating and a soda, and when he approached me with a wary smile I knew I wasn't going to like what he said next.

"So, uh, I know you want to go back to your castle and all, but do you mind if I just stop by my house to pick up things like clothes?" I frowned, crossing my arms and peering out at him from under the hood of my jacket. Stupid humans and their urges to put in bright lights everywhere through the night... The unnatural light didn't hurt like sunlight did, but it wasn't comfortable, either.

"Waste of time. I'll have new clothes made for you. You'll need nicer clothes, anyway, or else the royal court of bastards will have a fit." He tapped mindlessly on the cap to his soda as his brow furrowed, and after a long moment he looked back up at me with eyes burning with the same determination that had been the reason I had chosen him in the first place.

"I want to say goodbye." I nodded, unsurprised by his real reason for wanting to spend more time on this side of the mountains, but said nothing. "Please, Your Highness..."

"I'm not an idiot. This won't stop you from asking to visit later." He shook his head, not bothering to deny it, and I sighed. I refused to answer right away though inwardly I had already given in, and in the meantime I leaned against one of the walls to the burger joint. 

As much as I bitched about it, the human world wasn't that bad. There was much better Internet connection on this side of the mountains, and the mere thought of being outside our cage built from those mountains sent a shiver up my spine. Freedom, whispered through the wind that never reached me save for when I dared to cross over here. For the freedom I could deal with the harsh lighting and terrible smell, and I could almost pretend that the stars weren't invisible here.

I closed my eyes, breathing in and trying to look past the obvious scent of grease and grime oozing from the shitty fast food place. After a moment I released the breath, opening my eyes and raising my head to look at Eren.

"One condition." He grinned, heart rate speeding up with relief and the thrill of having his request granted.

"Anything, Your Highness."

"Good. Stop calling me that, then." He blinked in surprise, opening his mouth and then closing it again, a questioning look plastered across his face. "Even that shitty four-eyes calls me by my name, and if you really plan on giving me this chance then I'm sure as hell going to make the most of it."

"O-oh. Okay then." He paused, coming closer to lean against the wall next to me and finish his burger quickly, and I was almost shocked into silence when he downed the soda in five seconds flat.

"The fuck? There's no way that's healthy." He laughed as he leaned over to toss his trash into the trashcan by the door, and I scowled before grabbing his hand and glaring at him. "Address?"

"What? Oh! Right! Thanks, um, Levi. 88 Shinganshina drive." I nodded and warped us there immediately, tightening my grip on the brunet's hand and moving to grasp at his arm when he swayed slightly. "Fuuckk... That always feels so nauseating..."

I shrugged and after a moment let go of him, watching him hesitate before walking up to the door of a dilapidated apartment complex before following, not keen to the idea of letting him wander through the filthy building by himself, and soon he had led me to a door on the second floor. It was yellowed and one of the numbers on it had fallen off to reveal only a slight outline of the '4', but at least it didn't require me to traipse up too many flights of stairs.

I stood behind Eren as he did his best to be quiet about opening the door, only following him inside when he motioned for me to do so. The apartment was small, and it took most of my willpower not to wrinkle my nose at how filthy it was, but Eren had lit up the second he had stepped inside so I said nothing as I stood by the door and watched as he snuck into what I presume was his sister's room. There was silence, and then-

"EREN!" I rolled my eyes as the brunet laughed at his sister's shock, though my amusement faded as I overheard the next thing she had to say. "How did you escape him? Did he hurt you? Did he... Did he bite you?"

I sighed, deciding it was probably better for me to sit this conversation out and turning back to the door. Just as I was slipping back outside I heard Eren call out my name, and I froze in place.

"Where are you going? Honestly! Get over here and shake hands with my sister, will you? I was going to use your presence to prove to her that you're not out to hurt me." I turned my head to look back at him with both eyebrows raised, and he grinned at me and pushed the raven-haired girl towards me. She seemed to hesitate before she bowed, and I sent her brother one last glance before backing out of the doorway and shutting the door behind me as I watched the murderous looking female rise back to her feet.

"Levi, this is Mikasa. Mikasa, this is Levi, who most definitely did not bite me or hurt me in any way. He brought me here because I asked him to." Mikasa's expression morphed into one of surprise and then into one of slight acceptance, and I pulled my hood lower over my face so I wouldn't have to see how pleased Eren looked with himself. "Excellent."

The apartment fell into silence once more, and Eren's grin faded slightly as he let out a deflated sigh. I moved to ask him if he was okay, but was beaten to it by his sister and frowned before leaning back against the door as I watched Eren force a grin and wave Mikasa off.

When the moment had passed Eren pulled Mikasa off to the living room, and I did my best not to listen in as he explained to his sister that he would visit again and might even come home for good one day, though I couldn't help to notice when he pointedly refused to answer any questions regarding why. I wasn't complaining, though, if the kid didn't want to spread the horror story I had told him.

An hour later Mikasa was yawning again and Eren was ushering her back into bed before coming back out to give me a thumbs up, and I nodded and warped us both back to the castle. He was tired too, still adjusting to sleeping during the day, but before I left the room after making sure he was comfortable I paused.

"Back then... Were you really okay?" He sent me a lopsided smile, fading around the edges and looking slightly sad.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm just gonna miss her, and Armin, and all the rest, you know?" I hummed, watching as he pulled the covers up to his nose and squeezed his eyes shut before I warped out of the room. Despite having just chosen a mate, I was still King, thus there were probably about twenty new things I had to look over before refusing. It was only as I was settling into bed closer to dawn next to the brunet did I remember that I had forgotten to make him buy me some of that sunscreen stuff, but no way I was waking him up now. Maybe tomorrow night, if I was willing to go out again...


	7. Chapter 7

Eren's POV

"Okay, are you ready? The sun will supposedly begin to rise in two minutes..." The Vampire King nodded, unsuccessfully hiding his glee with annoyance at my constant pestering.

"Do you honestly think my answer will have changed in the last thirty seconds, brat?" I gave him a guilty half-grin, and he sighed. "Yes, I'm ready for the fucking sun to get off its ass and rise already. I feel like I've been dumped in a vat of glue, though..."

"Ha! That's the best description I've ever heard for sunscreen!" Levi rolled his eyes, but I did pity the vampire. Besides wearing his hood usually saved for when he made trips to humanity's side of the mountains, he was covered head-to-toe in enough sunscreen that there was a good layer unable to be rubbed in.

To my surprise, it had been the Vampire King that had suggested taking me to see Armin last night, but when he warped us to a convenience store instead of back to the castle when I was done letting my blond friend nerd out in the presence of the vampire I quickly learned the real reason he had suggested the trip. I have to say, though, the look on the cashier's face when she recognized Levi as the Vampire King under his hood was almost as priceless as it was when she first saw the ten bottles of sunscreen we dumped onto the conveyor belt.

"I swear, brat, if I end up having to take five showers after this and I don't get to see the Sun rise completely, you are going to regret ever having agreed to stay with me." I laughed, then shushed him and gestured to where the sky was getting lighter. 

We were standing on the top of a hill just barely inside the palace gardens, and though the Palace Guard had already returned indoors to be replaced with human sentries there was a curious pair of dark eyes peering out from most of the visible windows. What a sight we must make; the Vampire King himself covered in a gooey white mess waiting for the Sun while his chosen mate laughed at him.

I sighed and flopped back onto the grass, stretching and yawning loudly before pulling myself up to sit, leaning back and supporting myself with my arms. A glance at Levi revealed his tense muscles and anxious expression, and I reached over to tug and his sleeve as the first few rays of sunlight began to peek out over the horizon. On instinct the Vampire King dropped down to the ground beside me to avoid them, but I simply sighed and tried once more to get his attention by grabbing at his shirt. After a moment of silence I rolled my eyes, then gave up.

"Well, seeing as how you're unresponsive right now, I'll just assume you're listening. If you feel uncomfortable, just warp out of here. I'll find my own way back to our room if it comes to that, okay?" No reply. Of course. "Whatever. But if you're going to stay out here, may as well stand up."

He jerked out of his paralyzed state when I stood and moved between him and the Sun, reaching out to grab his hands and pull him off the ground. I sidestepped out of the way without warning, and I flinched when he gasped, assuming he was burning though the Sun had barely become visible.

"Shit... It's incredible..." I hummed in agreement as I relaxed, glad I hadn't just lost the honorable vampire race their king.

"It is, isn't it?" His eyes were wide with wonder and joy at being able to stand in the Sun, and for a moment I thought I had heard him let out a quiet giggle. 

It lasted only a few minutes, though, and I heard the slight hiss he let out in pain before I saw the steam beginning to rise from his skin, and with a final lingering look at the now half-risen Sun the vampire grabbed my arm and warped us both back to our room.

Before I could ask if he was okay he was rushing towards the bathroom where we had already prepared a cold bath for him if needed, and I sighed as I heard him jump into the water. After a moment I followed him through the door leading to a branch off the tower, groaning as I always did while dragging myself up the six steps necessary to reach the bathroom. As cool as the circular room looked and as fantastic as it sounded to have the bathroom in a separate tower branching off of this one, it was a pain in the ass when I woke up to go to take a piss still half asleep.

The bathroom was nice, though, more than nice, and it really did deserve its own little tower. The bath was scooped into the floor in the center of the room, the tub only slightly smaller than the massive bed in the larger tower. The Vampire King was currently completely submerged, but I could imagine his look of disgust as the sunscreen began to peel and flake away to float to the top.

"Hey, Levi?" I had learned just the previous night how sensative hearing he had, so it was no surprise when he rose to peek his head out of the water to show that he was listening. "Are you okay? No missing arm or incinerated ear?"

"Tch." I blinked, surprised to not have received a snarky reply, and felt my face contort with concern as I approached the tub and sat cross-legged by the edge.

"Did it really hurt that badly?" He gave a grunt that could mean virtually anything, and I reached down into the icy water to splash at him in my frustration. "Come on, Mr. I'm-Some-Tough-Shit, if you're hurting that badly then I need to know what I should do."

"It's fine. My fault, not yours." I raised an eyebrow, and he cleared his throat and muttered out an answer to my unspoken question before sinking back into the water. "I stayed an entire minute longer than I should've."

I burst out laughing, heaving for breath when he turned his face up to scowl at me under the water, and he stuck his tongue out before grimacing at the taste if the water filthy with sunscreen before pushing off the edge to loiter at the other end of the tub. Of course that idiot had been too transfixed by the Sun to leave when he should've...

My laughter died as quickly as it had started when I thought through what had happened, and I felt my face twist in pity instead. This had been his first time seeing a sunrise, and he couldn't even stay through the entire thing...

I sighed before yanking off my shoes and pulling my shirt off over my head, letting myself slide into the bathtub with the Vampire King and ignoring the frigid temperature. Levi popped his head back over the surface of the water to give me a curious look, but before he could say anything I had descended upon him and scooped him into a hug.

He tensed, unsure what to do and how to feel about not having his feet on the ground, and I shifted to let him stand on his own feet. After a long moment he relaxed back into the hug, though he made no move to return it, and I felt slightly guilty to admit that I was glad of the fact seeing as most of the Vampire King's sunscreen was still on, slimy instead of sticky now that it was wet.

After a long moment he sighed, disappointment clear in that single deflating breath, and I squeezed him tighter before pulling back to meet his eyes.

"You know, the moon's really beautiful." He blinked, surprised, but I didn't give him a pause to say anything. "And the stars... I've never seen them so bright or so many. It's like the sky was filled with a million lightening bugs, and I never even knew the night sky could have purple or blue tones."

"What are you doing, shitty brat?" I sent him a lopsided grin, and he frowned and looked down at his feet. 

"I'm letting you know that the night is really beautiful. The moon and the stars are a million times more aesthetically pleasing than the Sun is, even if they don't cultivate all life on Earth." The Vampire King looked up at me through hair that was limp and soaked, looking like he wanted to shut me up before I comforted him completely but not knowing how. Too bad, sucks to be him, I sure as hell wasn't going to stop there. "Being a creature of the night is more alluring, anyway. Your skin is pale and fair and just as pretty as the night from no exposure to the Sun, and when your eyes glint they could be mistaken for stars. Being raised in darkness has molded you into something worthy of the night's beauty, you-"

"Shut up, Eren." I let out a breathless laugh at the mumbled protest, the vampire standing in front of me pitching forward to lean his forehead against my chest to hide from his embarrassment.

"Hey, I thought I was doing a pretty okay job there." Levi raised a hand to beat weakly at my shoulder, annoyed but not caring enough to make an effort, and I laughed.

"You were doing a fucking fantastic job, idiot, that's why I shut you up." I rolled my eyes, but the action went unnoticed by the shorter male.

"In any case, you understand what I'm trying to tell you, right?" Silence. "Listen: don't be upset that you can't stay in the Sun. It was just a hope, and just because it didn't work out doesn't mean you've failed or anything. You're fine. And your happiness does not depend on the Sun, okay?"

"Whatever." I raised a hand to run it through my hair before letting it rest on Levi's back, and he sighed. This idiot and his idea of a perfect life...

"And neither does living 'normally', as you put it! I'm living without the Sun now, and I haven't crippled into some sort of freakish monster unable to be happy." The Vampire King snorted, and I grinned. At least I was getting somewhere. "In fact, if this was the first time you've had to wear sunscreen, you've led quite the blissful life."

"Tch. You made me use enough for over a lifetime." I laughed, nodding as the vampire pulled back slightly to look up at me and scowl. "Oh, fuck you. Now get your ass out, I'm going to try to scrub this sunscreen out of my pores now. You're not invited."

I laughed again before nodding and humming, pulling myself out of the tub and sticking my tongue out at the Vampire King as I got the floor of the bathroom soaked as I walked around in search of a towel. The second I had found one I was banished from the room, where I simply changed into dry clothes and slipped into bed. I was so tired... I would blame Levi, but he took me to see Armin last night.

Maybe next time we cross into humanity's side of the mountains, I'll introduce the Vampire King to a night club. Or a nocturnal animal. He was going to have to give in to happiness in darkness eventually, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it was short, but this was the fluff cushion for coming chapters- you've been warned


	8. Chapter 8

Levi's POV

The Sun hurt like a fucking bitch. I hadn't actually ever been burnt by it before, so I had no clue how to take care of the raw skin on my cheeks and arms. Even through my hoodie I had felt the singeing touch of the Sun, though my neck and collar received the worst of it. Every time I shifted and my shirt would rub against the bright red skin there I would let out a small hiss of pain, and when in our room I took to just abandoning the shirt completely.

Eren had completely shrunk back into himself when he had seen just how much damage the Sun had done to me, and no matter how much I insisted it was my own fault the look of guilt in his eyes was always heavy. Shitty brat had gone back to dancing on eggshells around me, what little bonding shit we went through during the stunt in the bathroom two weeks ago forgotten as the brunet instead took to never voicing much anything else besides apologies and worried questions about my health.

Idiot never seemed to realize that it didn't matter anyway, seeing as I was already classified by the humans as dead, and every time he glanced at where my skin contrasted with its normal pale complexion he flinched visibly. The past couple nights I had stayed on the opposite end of the bed, throwing off the covers and letting myself go back to the useless exercise of breathing as Eren watched from the other side of the bed looking hurt and twice as guilty. Those were the worst moments, I suppose, because I had already grown so used to his warmth at nights that it was difficult falling asleep without it pressed so closely to me.

Shitty Glasses had nearly burst a vein when she saw the sudden hesitance and look of wrongdoing in my chosen mate's eyes, though it hadn't stopped her from wanting a full report on not only what a sunrise looked like in person compared to the Internet but also of the exact feeling of being burnt to a crisp. Fucking four-eyes.

She did give one piece of advice to clear the kid's conscience, though, or at least to distract him from the event. And I hadn't taken him out into the city yet anyway, so this evening I woke up the brat and told him to get dressed.

"Wha-?" Before he had even completed the sleepy protest he had rolled out of bed and onto the floor, intentional or not, and I rolled my eyes as he groaned. I helped pull him back to his own feet, and an hour later I was leading him through the winding and slowly crowding streets of the main city sprawling out around the castle.

The sky had gotten dark enough that the streets were lively, and no one gave the bats that did regular sweeps of the area a second glance. Even if it was assumed that with their regular flight patterns they were guards, there was no way to distinguish the Palace Guards from the ones that kept watch over the city. The only real thing that drew lingering looks our way was Eren, that shitty little brat, but I suppose it was to be expected. Just because I had learned how close I could be to him without the smell of his blood affecting me too much didn't mean everyone else had, and on multiple occasions I had to send silent threats across the street in the form of a hiss or showing off my fangs.

The brunet walking beside me didn't seem to notice, too wrapped up in attempting to take everything in at once. The past couple weeks he had gotten fairly used to the low level of light, but I still caught the ridiculous dork using his phone to light his way through the castle a few times. He never asked for me to turn on a light again, though he did bring up the pointlessness of me even having a lamp if I wasn't going to use it.

Now he seemed to be okay, and it helped that there weren't many vampires that enjoyed living in complete darkness. If we could, we'd all live in the light, but that's not our place, I suppose...

"Hey, Levi?" I blinked as I was torn from my thoughts, humming as I turned to look at the taller boy. He didn't stop walking, but his eyes were fixed on a point slightly behind us, and after turning to catch a glimpse of what he was looking at I grew tense and froze in my tracks. I was surprised he could read it in the murky darkness this far away, but on a smaller house perhaps twenty feet away was a flyer, blaring white in the night.

It wasn't new, in fact I had seen several other similar posters the last time I was in town, and I was overwhelmed with the stupidity of bringing Eren out here. 'Leave Them Behind,' was thankfully one of the less aggressive flyers I had seen, but the brunet with me seemed to have already figured out what it meant.

Leave them behind, leave the humans that had come to us on their knees centuries ago and let them revert back to a state of hopelessness, leave them behind because they did shit for us. Eren shifted his weight from foot to foot as he glanced between me and the flyer, and after a moment I sighed. This, I suppose, I could play off as nothing big. We had to leave, though, before we ran into propaganda for the group slowly gaining members to the West and now South of the castle. If Eren saw something from them, promoting the death of his race...

"We're leaving." The taller boy frowned, clearly wanting an explanation, and I froze when he jerked his arm away so that I couldn't warp us both back to the castle.

"No, we're not. I wanted to see more, and we're definitely not leaving until you explain that." I ran a hand through my hair, eyes once more fixed on the offending flyer.

"You know damn well what it is..." Eren said nothing, and his expression was somewhere between acceptance and annoyance when I bothered to look. "You know the story, now. It's a logical move to make, to leave your species behind. Are you really that surprised?"

"...I don't know. More just... I mean, you won't, right? Leave us behind?" I frowned, skimming my eyes around the busy street and catching the eye of a few interested vampires.

"No. I won't." The taller boy let out a slow breath, and I took the chance to grab his arm while he was relaxed to warp us back to the palace. He almost seemed unsurprised when the the world snapped out of sight before we rematerialized in our room, instead turning to catch my eye again.

"You would've, though, if I hadn't stayed with you." It wasn't a question, so I didn't answer it. My silence spoke for itself, anyway, and the younger boy nodded and pressed his lips into a tight line. "That's what I thought."

"Can you honestly blame me? We are a dying race, and we need everyone here, in this fucked up little cage you gave us, so that we can change that. I should've done it years ago, but... I..." I was waiting. I wanted to try to get my chance at a normal and happy life with one of you.

"Yeah, I fucking can blame you! Dying race or not, didn't you say we basically crumbled apart the last time you left humanity?" I stiffened, tone growing icy and gaze narrowing. 

"No. I said that you and your goddamned system of what you believe to be good and bad slaughtered us by the millions, and then was too incompetent to fix things by themselves." The shitty brat was bristling as well now, eyes burning.

"Well, fuck that. I'm sorry, but I was taught something else for 18 years, it's not like I can throw that away immediately. And don't just lump me in with the rest of humanity, because you do it all the time and it's not exactly meant at as a compliment." I all but growled, but there was no reaction other than a slight twitch of his eyebrow.

"I'll stop lumping you in with humanity when you leave it behind, fucking brat!" The room went silent, heavy with what we had both just said, and after a long moment the brunet's flame seems to flicker and die before he sighed.

"Right. Okay." We stood facing each other for another long minute before I shook my head, not believing how fucking terribly this was going. I warped out of the room, seeking refuge somewhere the stupid brat couldn't follow, and spent the rest of the night hiding from him.

He was right, though- if he hadn't stayed, I would've given up and ordered everyone back on this side of the mountains. But he had chosen to stay, and so I would protect him and humanity with what measly existence I had. For now, though, I needed some time to let my head cool without that fucking brat around to cloud my judgment...


	9. Chapter 9

Levi's POV

He didn't speak to me the next night. And as pissed as I was at him and his childish silent treatment, I wasn't sure if I'd be telling the truth if I said that that was all I was feeling. A heavy stone had settled into the put of my stomach, weighing me down and forcing me to seek out the brat's gaze and look down in something close to disappointment when he refused to meet my eyes.

Even now, both of us settled on opposite ends of the bed though my burn wasn't as sensitive, the corners of my lips were pulled down and my brow furrowed as I stared hard at the back of his head. Why was he ignoring me? Right now he should be looking at me apologetically, feeling guilt for the pain our sunrise had cost me, and though I hated seeing him look at me with such a dismal expression I hated this more.

Guilt. That word was meant to be used to describe others, so I couldn't be sure if I was allowed it. King was the strongest or they were the dead, so I was just supposed to be that, right? Strong, unafraid, a leader.

Strength was easy. Physical, mental, emotional, all forms of strength were built from misery and the desire to live. There were few on this side of the mountains that could argue that they weren't strong, really, as we had all lost our battle for life long ago and greeted misery as an old friend.

Courage and bravery were slightly different, and though I was expected to have both, no one wanted to see me be courageous. That would require me to overcome a fear, and who wants to know that their king is afraid of something? Or, perhaps, it was what everyone was waiting for. A single moment of weakness, and just like that there would be a knew king. Can't say I'd be disappointed exactly- I had had my turn and then some.

But yet I still possessed that leadership, still cringed when something was done wrong and naturally took over so things could go my way. It was what had driven me to kill Kenny in the first place, and it was what had kept me on the throne for centuries. Somehow I had convinced myself that if I ever stepped down then the entire race would fall apart, and with those false feelings of being needed I would spend another night negotiating or slaying or planning so that I could play my part as the good king.

Was there room in all that for guilt? Was that even what the stone was, fighting for my attention and begging for me to apologize to the shitty little brat instead of just stare at him?

I sighed and sat up, taking a moment to watch Eren's measured breaths before slipping out of bed. I wandered to my desk and flopped down into the chair, reaching for the dictionary I kept in one of the smaller drawers. I had swiped it from Humanity's side of the mountains decades ago, on a frivolous mission to figure out what Shitty Glasses had been talking about when she ranted about modern human customs. 

I hadn't been able to learn much from the reference book, and I ended up just finding out that a few vampires still on Humanity's side of the mountains had created websites exactly for that type of thing. Couldn't have our race be completely unaware to everything, after all, though some managed to keep up with it through social media. That was something I couldn't do, so instead I did my best to rely on my small dictionary and a few vampire-created Wikipedia pages.

I flipped through its pages now, searching for a way to bind something with words and perhaps lift the weight inside of me.

Guilt: noun

The feeling of doing wrong or failing in an obligation

"I failed..." I glanced over at Eren as soon as the words slipped out of my mouth to make sure that he was still sleeping, then turned slowly back to my book. I had failed, hadn't I? I was his goddamned mate, whether soul mates existed or not, and I had failed in the simplest task given to me in this role: keep him safe.

Sure, he was alive and breathing and if I braved reaching out to touch him I know he'd still be like a fucking heater, but... I found myself once more turning in my seat to look at him, glad that from this side of the room I was presented with an angle where I could see his face. His hair was splayed across his face and hid most of what would be viewable of his eyes, and subconsciously I felt my fingers twitch in the urge to brush the hair away.

How long would it be before his face appeared on one of the flyers spread across the city? Once that happened, could I keep him safe? The easiest option would be to send him back to Humanity's side of the mountains, but it would only be a few days at most before the word spread of his location.

How long would it be before there was another attempt to take my life? I still had maybe 60% support if you counted the vampires living with humans and supporting them from the shadows, but all it took was a single one of the protesting vampires from either side of the mountains to get a good shot and I would be dead. If I died, what would Eren do? Not much, I suppose, he'd probably just go back to his friends and family. That was, if my assassin was kind enough to let him... 

Who was I kidding? We weren't kind- none of us were. We're monsters, the cold-hearted reincarnates of avarice banished to live in the darkness. Everyone pushing against me was doing so because they wanted to throw away humanity and let them rot, some even wishing for the extinction of the race. If I was killed by one of them, Eren would not live. He had no way to escape, no way to fight back, and if there was an afterlife for merciless beasts like us then his death would weigh heavily on my shoulders through eternity.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, eyes still fixed on the brunet. After a long moment I stood up, walking silently to the side of the bed and standing over the younger boy. Giving in to the urge that had first gripped at me when I looked at him I bent down slightly to brush his hair away, and while he stirred at the cold touch of my fingers he remained asleep.

Hesitantly, I took in a breath of air, shuddering at the smell of his blood and standing up straight when my mind began to fog over. This was not what I needed to be doing right now, there was no point to this at all. I needed to know exactly what was going on on both sides of the mountains so that I could plan, and so that I could keep this idiot safe.

The first thing I did was warp down to the lower barracks, eyes searching the suddenly silent group of Palace Guards as they looked back at me expectantly. Finding who I was looking for I pulled them aside, and a single glance at their expressions betrayed how terrified they were. It was true I rarely spoke to the guards individually, but for this I needed to be certain I could trust the ones chosen to watch over Eren when I couldn't.

"I assume you're all aware of the situation, correct?" The three of them nodded numbly, their eyes cast downwards in sudden depression. I chose these three because they were like me- they had a human to protect. Aurou had chosen a sweet girl named Petra three years ago, and Ymir and Reiner had chosen mates just this year. "You three are from this point onwards in charge of Eren Yeager's safety. You may enlist others to help, but no one that doesn't have a chosen human mate. Do you understand me?"

After receiving promises from each of them I nodded and warped out, not even bothering to yell at the rest of the guards for not keeping their quarters clean. A quick stop back in our room to throw on my hoodie, and then, after steeling myself, I warped to what I remembered as Mikasa Ackerman's apartment. I still was disgusted at the filth, but I concentrated on the task at hand. 

I had warped myself inside the apartment, and I made my way to the bedside of the raven haired girl now. On instinct I warped into a darker corner of the room immediately after shaking her awake, and when she looked around the room sleepily I didn't miss how her hand wandered under the pillow to grab something there.

"Friendly, friendly, no need to reach for your weapon." She stiffened at my voice, eyes instantly finding mine in the darkness, and after a long moment she withdrew her hand and sat up.

"Your Highness. May I ask what brought this visit on? Where's Eren?" I sighed, running a hand through my hair before answering.

"He's fine, for now at least. He's why I'm here." Her eyes narrowed, worry colliding with suspicion and distaste as she glared at me. "There's a group gathering power on our side of the mountains, one that wishes for the extinction of human kind. You have my word I will do my best to keep Eren and the rest of you safe, but if I am killed and a new king takes my place then there is nothing anyone can do. I have guards with human mates watching over your brother now, and I came to both warn you and offer the same service to you and the rest of those close to Eren. I don't expect an answer now, speak with everyone else first."

"...Thank you for the-" I didn't hear the rest of what she said, already having warped back to the castle. I tossed my hoodie at a passing maid before beginning to search out Erwin, always disgusted with how filthy it smelled after even the briefest of trips into the human world.

I found Erwin in a corner of the throne room, pouring over a large map. He wasn't surprised when I materialized beside him, only sending me a quick glance before turning back to the map. Small black and white pins scattered the expanse of what was clearly seen as a cage of mountains from above, and I frowned at the realization that there were many more black pins than the last time I had seen this map- just two nights ago.

"How bad is the situation?" Erwin let out a tight sigh, tapping a finger against the table that the map was rolled out on.

"Worse. Reports keep coming back of large riots taking place here-" he moved to gesture to a large cluster of black pins, "-and we've had to start interrogating our own guards. I trust you were smart enough to put some measure of safety in place for Eren?"

"Of course. And to the East? How many of the vampires protesting to just leave humanity behind have switched sides?" Erwin grimaced, and I mimicked the action as he shook his head.

"Too many. Any hope of gaining them back for our side is lost. We've already killed two in the past eight hours as they made to try and kill you." I groaned and let my head hang back, not seeing an easy way out.

"Shit..." The army commander nodded numbly, not bothering to sugarcoat anything. "They aren't making our lives any fucking easier, are they?"

"Levi, you have to consider your options at this point. Struggling to both protect vampires and support humanity will only end with all of us dead." I stiffened, tilting my head upward so that my fangs glinted in the low light of the room.

"Are you suggesting that I abandon humanity?" I didn't miss the small step backwards that the blond took, but after a moment I sighed and lowered my head. I hadn't ever threatened the longtime friend of mine, and while I was sure he knew I would never go through with it it wasn't something to be taken lightly if the king bared his fangs at you.

"...no, I'm simply saying that you have to think of an alternative to whatever mess this is. Some sacrifices have to be made, of course, and-" we both froze and went silent at the tiny scuffling sound outside the large doors to the throne room, and after sharing a look we both warped outside and blinked in surprise at who we believed to be an assassin.

"Eren." I turned and did a quick sweep of the hall, nodding with satisfaction after finding three bats hidden but watching carefully to ensure the safety of my chosen mate. Looking back at him now I was surprised to see how furious he was, but after a moment I recognized the terror in the back of his eyes driving him to shake slightly and hunch his shoulders in defense.

"Promise me. Promise me right this fucking moment that you won't leave humanity behind!" I sighed, not pleased to find out that he had heard our conversation. 

"Eren, how much did you-"

"Enough to understand how fucking scared we should all be! Enough to realize how damn hopeless it is to just trust that you'll keep humanity safe! Why are you so calm? How the hell can you be so fucking cold? You know that humanity will collapse again if you leave us behind, yet not only are you letting it happen but your letting your kingdom plan our extinction! How the hell are you so-"

"Shut up." He froze, mouth still half open, flinching when I raised my previously lowered head to meet his gaze. "Shut up, and back the fuck off. This isn't your damn kingdom to run, but maybe if it were you'd understand that you don't just let anything happen. I'm doing my best, but how the hell can you honestly expect me to control every tiny thing that happens inside this shitty cage you stuffed us in?"

"Every little tiny thing? Really? You think this is tiny? Of course you do, you fucking monster. Of course you think the extinction of an entire species is tiny, because why wouldn't it be? We mean nothing to you, nothing, all we're good for is 'reproduction'!" I clenched my hands, focusing on not tearing something apart when all I wanted was to destroy something, because he was right, we were monsters, and I needed to let out my anger somehow. But I couldn't, I had to pretend that I wasn't a monster, so I had to just let my anger bottle up from centuries of living as the dead and never getting release and god it hurt it stung so badly the anger his words it all hurt it hurt it hurt it-

"Fuck you, and fuck the damn promise you made me." His eyes flickered with recognition at the mention of the promise, expression softening just slightly as he remembered what I had told him. He was my hope for living happily and normally and my hope to be something more than a monster, and yet here he was, voice echoing through the hall as he denounced me as one.

"Oh, shit, I-"

"Aurou. Come here." One of the bats instantly dropped from the ceiling, shifting midair and landing on humanoid legs. I tried to ignore the look of shock on Eren's face, tried to ignore the horrific look of shame and guilt as he realized how I had already been trying to keep him safe even after our fight the other night because I wasn't so damn petty like he was, instead turning to look the guard in the eye. "Take Eren home."

"Levi, I-"

"Shut the fuck up! We had our chance, now I'm sending you home because it obviously didn't work out!" All anger was gone from his expression, replaced with pure horror and guilt. The feeling of wrong doing, of failing at an obligation. Yeah, we had both failed, and now I was time to give in to that fact. "Tell your sister that my offer still stands. And Eren- just because I'm a monster doesn't mean I don't have a heart too. Now get out of here. I have a kingdom to run, and an entire fucking race that isn't even mine to protect."

I turned on my heel, warping myself back into the throne room as I did so. There was no need to register Erwin's shocked expression, no need to watch Eren leave. And if he truly did regret what he said...

Then he wasn't the only one.


	10. Chapter 10

Eren's POV

I didn't regret it. 

Kind of. Sort of. Well, maybe I regretted it just a little, tiny bit. There was that small voice in the back of my head swearing up and down that it will give up on me if I didn't go back to apologize right that instant, and the coiling of my stomach as it protested my refusal to listen, but the thrill of being back in my own world overwhelmed it completely.

My escort was gone as soon as my apartment building became focused in front of us, and a grimaced as I wondered if he had ended up badly burnt. And that reminded me that shit, it was daytime and it was bright and look! There's the Sun! My own eyes were screwed up as I tried to adjust to the light I hadn't been allowed for weeks, limiting my view of home to just small slits.

I grinned, all thoughts of guilt and regret fleeing my mind as I took a deep breath through my nose and spread my arms out. Soon I was laughing, on the edge of hysterics as I twirled around and looked up at the sky and forced my eyes open. It was so warm, so light, so safe... Except for that truck hurtling towards me I barely avoided.

Effectively shaken from my state of bliss, I sighed from residual content and began jogging towards my apartment building, taking the steps two at a time when I got there. My grin was plastered across my face once more by the time I reached our apartment, digging into my pockets for my keys before scrambling to unlock the door and race into the kitchen where I could smell food being made, slamming the door behind me.

"Wha-"

"Mikasa! Armin!" The two of them stood shell-shocked as they stared at me, but I was too happy to care that the entire kitchen was full of our friends (and frienimies, if Jean's presence was anything to go by). Mikasa was the first to react, slow smile spreading across her face as she pounced onto me, and I laughed as she knocked us both to the floor.

"Eren! You're okay!" I tilted my head up slightly to send her a quizzical look as my laughter subsided, and Mikasa glanced back at Armin before looking back at me. "The Vampire King told me you weren't safe..."

"He what? When?" Mikasa frowned, obviously having expected me to have known about Levi's visit.

"Like, less than two hours ago? I called everyone directly after to consider his offer and-"

"Woah, woah- what offer? Slow down, and get off of me!" She slid off of me as I sat up, brow now creased and frown replacing my grin. What the hell was going on?

"Sorry. I was woken up close to dawn by the Vampire King, and he gave me a brief explanation of what was happening on their side of the mountains. He said you were in danger, but that he had set up precautions and do the same for us if we asked for it." My face went blank, instantly remembering the bat that had been apparently trailing me and had taken me here. "Did he really not tell you?"

"...No..." Mikasa exchanged glances with the rest of our friends, and when the heavy silence was finally broken I was almost glad to hear Jean's voice.

"Well, he was a useless fuckwad. You didn't let him... Y'know, right?" I shook my head, still staring blankly at the ground.

"He wasn't that bad..." The apartment elapsed into silence once more as my friends stared at me, unsure how to respond to my immediate defense for the king. 

After a long moment I stood up, frown back and deeper than before. Levi had told me to let Mikasa know that his offer still stood, and though it was now clear what he had meant by that it didn't make sense that he would offer protection for my friends after I had snapped at him. It almost made me wonder...

"U-um, if there are any Palace Guards here, could you please not be bats for a moment?" I ignored the incredulous looks of my friends, instead biting back a gasp when three soldiers seemed to almost materialize before me, though I knew they had been here before and hadn't just warped here. "T-three?"

"Yes, sir. Do you need something?" I stared with impossibly wide eyes at the three vampires currently on their knees before me, and after sending a glance to Mikasa letting her know that she didn't need to make an attempt to kill them and glancing over to where Connie had stumbled backwards in shock I turned back to the three guards.

"Maybe, um, we could start with your names? And why you're here and actually obeying me? Because right now I'm confused as fuck..." The female, freckled with black hair and looking unamused, snorted, and I recognized her from the Ceremony a few weeks back.

"Ymir. To my left is Reiner, and the idiot keeping quiet because he bit his tongue is Aurou." I nodded in greeting, not bothering to hide my still perplexed gaze as Ymir continued. "We're here because we were ordered to be, and same for your last question."

"Oh. Well, fuck." I slumped heavily against one wall of the kitchen, running a hand through my hair. Even now, not ten minutes after I was banished from Levi's side, he was still making sure I was safe. That idiot...

I withdraw my previous statement. I regretted what I said, regretted leaving, and I regretted it a whole fucking ton.

"What're you talking about, Yeager? You've got guards, and they're listening to you! Damn, you really are a fucking idiot to look so conflicted. Just order them not to let us die!" I didn't bother glancing at Jean, only shaking my head slightly when the vampires in front of me tensed and looked to me for approval to behead the horse-faced idiot.

He was right, I did have the advantage here. Think- what exactly did I know? I knew that there was a large group that wanted to kill off humanity, a group that was obviously threatening enough that Levi thought it necessary to have guards shadow me and obey me when I asked them to. Threatening enough that he offered the same service to my sister and friends, because though we tried to use the mountain range between us as a shield, what good did it really do? Vampires could warp anywhere they pleased, and really any moment one might materialize in front of me and slit my throat before warping right back to its side of the mountains.

In fact, who's to say they haven't begun to do so already? Without another word I turned on my heel and made my way into the living room, scooping up Mikasa's laptop and ignoring my friends' confused protests as I opened it and entered my sister's password. It didn't take me long to confirm that there hadn't been any moves made by the dangerous group that was forming yet, but it did little to calm my nerves. I released a heavy breath through my teeth, glaring at Jean as I considered my options.

That is, if I really had options. I mean, Levi had made it pretty clear that-

"Hey, what're you glaring at me for, Yeager?"

"Shut up, Horseface."

-that he wanted me out of his way, because in the end I really was just a burden for the vampire. His skin was burned because of a stupid idea of mine, and I knew I had hurt him on multiple occasions with my words alone. That asshole wasn't completely made out of steel, as it turned out, especially when his chosen mate and his, 'one hope at a happy and normal life,' was concerned.

So going back wasn't an option. I'd be useless there anyway, so it wasn't worth considering. But here... Even here, I suppose, I had little to no authority, but I could do my best to manipulate the fact that I had been chosen by the Vampire King to my personal benefit. I could warn humanity, though I saw no huge way it'd help, and maybe we could send help to Levi and his army and guards.

And...

There was one thing I could do to help Levi directly. And like hell was I going to ignore it when I had just hurt him, so I found myself standing and searching out the eyes of one of my vampire guards. I caught Reiner's gaze first, and I didn't bother to gather the rest of their attention before beginning to speak.

"Can you take a message?" He nodded, and I mimicked the motion. "Good. Just... Tell him I'm sorry, okay?"

"Tell who?" I gave the vampire a skeptical look, and he shrugged. "Fine, fine, not like I can be expected to know all about who've you fought with recently."

And then he was gone, and my friends had stopped even bothering to try and get my attention. The guard was back in a few minutes, kneeling once more and holding out a small piece of paper with what I assumed Levi's handwriting to be. I took it, sighing as I read through it.

/Apology accepted. Your ass still isn't welcome here, though. Go get yourself killed.

-Levi 

P.S. Don't let your guards leave you again. I want at least three with you at all times, or else I'll send the entire fucking army over there./

I let out a breathy laugh at the words, shaking my head slightly. That idiot...


	11. Chapter 11

Levi's POV

Five hours and twenty-three minutes. It had only been five hours and twenty-three minutes since I sent Eren back to his own side of the mountains, and already I regretted it. Not because I missed the shitty brat, but because the few vampires I had ordered to keep an eye on social media and news pages had already found something, only five hours and twenty-three minutes after I decided the brunet would be better off with his own kind.

Now I couldn't find that blond shit-head of a commander fast enough, but he was already a step ahead of me when I finally found him barking out orders to the military I had called to the palace not two hours ago. Their numbers were considerably decreased since I had refused to let anyone in that didn't have a human mate, and with good reason. The group that had been gathering had given themselves a name, and somehow that name made them that much more powerful, and I was losing land quickly to them. Tueur, a jab at my supposed French heritage, and with the entire kingdom whispering rumors about this group that was calling themselves killers people were backing into the shadows.

No one had really been too afraid of them, though. We were all wary, but even as their shadow grew longer and darker and swallowed more of the kingdom no one hesitated before making a trip outdoors. No one had expected them to do anything, and if they had they expected that I could put them down. Wasn't that who I was? The monster who had managed to hold the throne a hundred times as long as any before me, the monster that no one had ever thought was mortal. They believed that I could throw back this new group, and I had been the only one to doubt them.

I had doubted them enough to send Eren back to his home even though I had grown so used to his annoying presence and his loud words and even the way he would shrink back just slightly from guilt and something else every time I spoke to him, and fuck, I regretted it.

Tueur had made their move. They had declared war, had claimed fifty lives and counting. They were all on the human's side of the mountains, all done the same way: a wooden stake through the heart, left out in the sun to bake. The first one had gone half an hour before being found, and when it was discovered the world rose to its feet and roared in protest. 

There had been a note, too. A yellowed note with a scrawling print and words that declared war, and spoke of revenge for what had been done to us. The government on humanity's side of the mountains had covered it up as best as they could, scrambling to hide the reason behind the words and the symbolism behind the stake through the heart.

Don't let them know, don't let them know we lied. Don't let them know that we had brought vampires to the edge of extinction, that it had hurt us just as much as it hurt them. Don't let them understand why it was a privilege to be chosen by one of them, don't let them know that they have hearts. Don't let them know that they didn't want to bite us, don't let them know that vampires chose who they did because they didn't want our deaths. Don't let them know that they didn't start those wars, don't let them know that they didn't end them. Don't let them know that we need them.

The theories were already flying, though. A particularly interesting one claimed that we were all vampires, that it was a disease, and that we could all were invincible save for from the sun and an overlarge splinter to pierce our heart. And, of course, we were at war now.

I had warped into Humanity's Stronghold the second this began, hands in the air and eyes darting over the dozen guns that were already pointed my way. They couldn't kill me, they knew that, but they knew they could slow me down. Two men stood by large velvet curtains, hands gripping the fabric and ready to expose me to the harsh sun the second they were given any type of signal. But I kept my hands up, saying nothing, and eventually a runt of a solider was pushed forward to search me. I let them, and when they found nothing but the small knife I kept in my boot they hesitantly lowered their weapons.

I wasn't there to kill them, and eventually they saw that and gave me permission to see the Court ruling over humanity. I hated being in that room, hated the constant buzz that ate at my mind caused by the magnet inlaid in the walls and floor and ceiling, hated that it wouldn't let me warp out of here at the slightest sign of danger.

But I stayed, betraying my promise to myself to stay strong should something like this happen. Should part of my kingdom turn on me and turn on humanity and declare war, should I ever have to deal with the inevitable end to my mostly peaceful time on the throne. I had promised to stand strong and show the courage I was supposed to have, promised I wouldn't run here for help. Here I was anyway, and I wouldn't leave, wouldn't leave because every minute spent doing something another human died and suddenly I regretted fighting with the human that was supposed to be my chosen mate. If I hadn't fought, if I hadn't banished him from this side of the mountains, he would be here, by my side. I would know that he was safe, no doubt clouding my mind when I imagined his stupid grin and his bright eyes and his warmth.

"Your Majesty," said with mockery, wariness, "I believe you declared war."

It took a whole hour to explain what had happened, to gain their belief, and by then I had wasted so much time I couldn't stay on this side of the mountains to find Eren and ease my conscience just slightly. I had to return straight here, by Erwin's side, because we were going to war, and the stone in my stomach grew heavier with every move we made to prepare ourselves for what was coming.

War with our own, vampires killing vampires. It wasn't unheard of, but it was gruesome, and it was never wished for. But here we were anyway, gathering our forces to join humanity in its second war against us.

I would have to participate as well, of course. I was king for a reason, and now more than ever the portion of my kingdom that still supported me needed me to show them that I really could drive away this shadow. If I had any reservations, I would wish that I had been able to see the Sun a bit more. 

~~~

Eren's POV

My guards hated me. At least, I assume so, because I hadn't even hesitated to spill the heavy secrets that Levi had given to me. The truth behind the wars all those years ago, and what little I knew about what was going on now. My friends almost seemed unsurprised, though there had been a moment of silence in which they debated whether to believe me or not.

Their trust in my story had come with the discovery of that first body, the note, the horrendous scene played out on television as reporters rushed to get the scoop before the government managed to paint a nicer coat of security over everything. 

"What do we do?" I had thought the answer was obvious, but I guess not.

"We help." Silence, then a tentative question from Armin.

"Who?" More silence, glances at the bats that were huddled in a back corner of the ceiling where we sat in the living room.

"Levi. We help Levi." Mikasa frowned, Jean scratched at the back of his head, and Connie crossed his arms. Once more, however, it was Armin who spoke next.

"Does he want our help?" I almost wanted to laugh, because no, that bastard wouldn't want our help. I was determined to give it to him anyway, the question was just how. 

"He does now. Armin, you're smart, can you figure out if there's a pattern to who they're killing?" Armin rolled his eyes at my reasoning behind asking him, but hey, it wasn't like he could deny being the brains of our group.

"Well, I mean... Do you think there might be a pattern? And if there is, and we were to warn the people who might fit their pattern, we'd probably just anger the vampires that are doing the killings." I frowned, once more disappointed in my lack of ability to see where my best friend's mind got its genius from.

"I guess... But what if we're able to find where the killings were happening mostly, couldn't we set preparations? Fight back." Mikasa grew rigid, throwing me a warning look, but I wasn't stopping now. The words tumbled from my mouth without hesitation now, and the confidence that I was used to having support my words was back tenfold. "Open areas to sunlight, things like that. It won't kill them instantly, but it'll do something. If people hear about others standing up, then maybe we can start something. We have to try, at least."

I stood up from the couch, hurrying back into the kitchen. The laptop was already open and ready, and soon I had found a website with a record of the murders from the past couple hours. My expression had already been pulled into a frown when I heard Armin sigh from where he had come to stand over my shoulder, and I had trouble hiding a grin as he pulled the computer away from me so that he could make sense of the information.

"I'll just run it through a system here... Eren, go get the map. The old one, at the back of your bookshelf." I did as he said, and by the time I had come back he was ready to begin making small marks on every location where a body had been found.

The result was a mess, no pattern, no nothing. I ran my hand through my hair for the umpteenth time, and Connie let out a sigh. The rest of our friends had joined us in the kitchen, Sasha pawing through the fridge as we waited for something, anything, to make sense.

God, I felt so useless, the thoughts I had been entertaining of helping Levi brought to an abrupt end with this. Armin opened his mouth to tell me to give up, to let them handle it, but I shot him a glare and he closed his mouth and looked down. Think, think, what did I know about vampires that others didn't? What did I have, besides three bats that had already revealed that they knew close to nothing about this group?

I had myself. I had the chosen mate of the Vampire King, I had hostage material. I had the ideal target, sitting here in my kitchen. If I could let them know of my presence, someone would come for me. 

I knew my blood smelled enticing to vampires. I knew even without any cuts or scratches it caused vampires ten meters away to stiffen slightly. If someone came for me, could I use that? Open a wound, splash blood in their face, distract them just long enough to open a curtain or drive a stake through their heart? 

I couldn't have anything set up previously. They'd know, they'd know and they'd flee and they'd bring back reinforcements or something, and then I'd to back to being useless. I had to set myself up as near defenseless, and I had to be alone. First, of course, they had to know I was here, and I found myself standing up without realizing it.

"Eren, where are you going?" I replied without looking a my sister, eyes already set with determination. I would do this, I would help Levi, because I was wrong earlier. I could help him directly, and I refused to stand helplessly and without purpose as he worked to keep everyone safe.

"I'm going to take a walk."


	12. Chapter 12

Eren's POV

The afternoon sun was blistering, and I was quickly regretting not changing into something more suited for the light of day. All the clothes I had been provided with when I was at the Vampire King's palace had been dark and obviously meant for royalty, though, so if my mission was to be noticed than this was the easiest way to do it. I didn't have much of a plan after this, only the vague determination to be useful.

I let my feet do the thinking for themselves as I took in the scenery, still not quite over the thrill of being in the sunlight once more. Every once in a while I would catch dark eyes watching me from darker shadows, but I did my best to ignore them and the royal crests that glinted on their chests. A nagging at the back of my mind warned me of how furious Levi would be when he when he found out I had been wandering around outside, and I knew that even if this plan went awry he'd hear from the guards watching over me. He wasn't an idiot, and I had no doubt that he'd catch on to my plan immediately, so I just had to hope that he would be too distracted with his own side of the battle to notice that I had abandoned my stupid act of damsel in distress.

I ended up wandering into the first Italian place I stumbled upon, suddenly struck with the longing for something incredibly garlicky. Levi had been good about providing me with human food and had even taken to feeding himself when I was asleep, but there had been a noticeable lack of pasta and all other potentially dangerous foods for the vampire. Part of me wondered just how much it would hurt him just to be around the stuff, but after the incident with the sunscreen I wasn't about to bring it up.

I still felt a lingering sense of regret for that adventure, the almost intimate moment shared when I tried to comfort him after it failed near forgotten when I saw just how damaged he was. I knew he was mostly healed, but I still felt my brow draw together at the thought of the Vampire King having to deal with all this shit while he was injured.

This was why I had to do this, had to help him. I refused to sit there like nothing was going on, especially when I knew more than most people about why humans were being killed in a manner reserved for the undead. Even if what I myself did wasn't much, the goal was to show that we weren't helpless. We could defend ourselves, and we weren't dependent on the government or an army. We could be our own damn heroes, but no one would realize that until someone forced that fact down their throats.

So I would do this, and when I emerged victorious people would realize that they didn't have to wait around for their deaths. I knew there were people out there doing just that, locked doors and boarded windows doing nothing against killers that could melt in and out of existence at will. 

I almost smiled when I caught a few people at a table close to mine whispering and pointing, the expression begging to twist my face into some sick welcoming of what everyone else was terrified of. My food was going cold as I stared straight at the group of teenagers that had now taken out their phones, and I bit back a laugh when being caught looking did nothing to stop them from updating their statuses or whatever they were doing on their phones, and I even smiled when one of them pointed their phone at me.

Yes, you have found the Vampire King's chosen mate eating Italian on humanity's side of the mountains. That would make an excellent picture to post on Instagram, wouldn't it? Let it go viral, let them find me, please, let me be more than the useless thing that's only caused damage at this point...

~~~

Levi's POV

"Shit! That mother fucking goddamned son of a fucked up pile of horse shit! That idiot! I'll kill him! I'll... Shit... That idiot..." As my voice cracked and died I collapsed back against the wall, one hand over my eyes as I let my head hang forward.

"Your Majesty? If there's something we can do to help, we can-"

"Shut up." There was an audible click as the sorry excuse for a solider obeyed the order, murmured under my breath but strong enough not to be mistaken. 

I couldn't comprehend what the hell the shitty brat was thinking, or if he was at all, but there on this guard's computer was an unmistakable picture of him. Smiling. Fucking smiling at the camera as his existence and location were given away to the entire Internet. And if the few vampires I had had monitoring the web had caught this, there was no doubt that Tueur would as well, or even that they already had.

I lied when I said that I had no fucking idea what was going through his mind, because it was pretty obvious what he was doing. A bold, 'come and get me,' and fuck if it wouldn't work. What had me taking shaky breaths in an attempt not to break something right this instant, something living preferably, was the fact that the idiot obviously hadn't thought this through. He realized they would want him, he fucking knew it, and he was trying to use it to draw them out for whatever reason.

Perhaps he thought one of his guards could capture a member of Tueur to get information, but more likely was the chance that he had been attempting to draw one out so that he could kill them himself. This was the brat I had chosen those few weeks ago, this overconfident, brash, arrogant, no-good idiot, the one I believed might survive if I bit him. If, if, if, the possibility had been there until you had to fuck everything up and throw him out. He was going to give you a chance, he was so fucking warm and kind to you and you threw him out...

...and now he was finally giving up that meek act of cowardice from seeing what the Sun had done to me, giving it up too late and now he was going to get himself killed... Killed, but not dragged to whatever life after death bullshit he might be dreaming of. This was were he was wrong, what he misunderstood: Tueur wouldn't want him killed like everyone else. They would want to use him, to flaunt him like a favorite toy, like a dangerous weapon.

And, if Tueur was smart, they would flaunt him as a shield. 

If Tueur was smart, they would know I couldn't kill the little shit, even if they bit him and broke him and molded him into a perfect killer. I may have banished him, may be pissed at him, but he was my chosen mate, and after waiting for so many fucking years I wasn't about to let him die like that. 

So after taking a deep breath, almost letting my lips twist into a dry smile at the slight regret that the brunet's scent wasn't immediately demanding my attention like I had grown used to, I peeled myself off the wall and dropped my hand from my face. The scrawny vampire and his computer were still there, staring at me and mocking me with the picture of Eren and his fucking smile. 

"Look at that cocky bastard... Straight for the Italian food... Idiot." The guard looked back up at me from where he had been fiddling with his hands, and I sighed. "Zoom in on the napkin. If you can get a visual on the restaurant name printed there, look it up and find any from that chain within five miles of his apartment."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Do you want me to contact Commander Erwin and report that you would like to send someone over there to get him?" I shook my head, pulling out my phone.

"That's unnecessary. Once you have the location of this restaurant, I want the phone number of the manager." He nodded, already turning back to his computer and doing his best to do as I instructed with one hand while the other kept the laptop balanced.

"Here it is- The Garlic." I snorted with amusement, and I caught the guard trying to hide a smirk. The idiot sure was obvious about everything... "Ah, here we go, Your Majesty."

He turned his laptop so that I could see the number he had brought up, and I nodded before typing it into my phone. The dial tone was loud and reminded me of why I wasn't huge on calling people, but I'd make it through one call. The phone was picked up on the third ring, and the voice on the other end betrayed no small amount of annoyance.

"The Garlic, how may I help you? If this is about reservations, please contact the aforementioned number on our website. If this is about Eren Yeager, I am afraid I cannot give the public information about my costumers." I rolled my eyes, though I was slightly grateful that the manager wasn't idiot enough to be giving out information like that easily.

"That's nice to know. I'm going to ask anyway. Is he still there? Little shit is too much of a brat to choose some place I could've had his guards follow him into." There was a beat of silence, but I expected that. 

"I'm sorry, who is this?" I had been hoping that I wouldn't have to specifically use my title as a means of persuasion, but after another pause in the conversation I sighed and gave up.

"Levi Ackerman, Vampire King. Is my mate still there?" I winced and jerked the phone away from my ear as there was an immediate outburst as the manager seemed to yell something at someone in the room, and I was slightly relieved to hear excitement instead of fear in their voice. 

Relief morphed to confusion when the muffled conversation taking place didn't end as soon as I expected it to, and confusion to concern. I turned back to the guard watching me carefully and yanked the computer from his hands before warping out of the side room we had put the small group doing our research in to find Hanji, not bothering to say anything as I yanked one of the cords from her various messes of useless shit and tried to fit it with the phone and computer as I waited for the manager to return to the phone.

Hanji had the good sense to stay silent, and after trying a few more wires I had finally found the one that fit both components. I cursed softly as I struggled to hook everything up correctly, but quickly snapped my mouth shut when I heard the manager direct their words towards me once more.

"Do you have a way to prove your identity?" I frowned, keeping the phone against my ear with my shoulder as I tapped at the computer and waited for the stupid fucking tracing program to kick in. Worthless piece of shit...

"Why the fuck would I need that? I just need to know where I can find my sorry excuse for a mate, and I doubt anyone would impersonate me anyway. Now, is he there or isn't he?" More muffled conversation on the other end of the phone, but it didn't matter. 

The tracing program had kicked in, and now all I had to do was buy time. In the meanwhile, I lowered my voice to a soft hiss and covered the bottom half of the phone with my hand as I turned my gaze to Hanji, who stood waiting patiently for directions. Shitty Glasses could be a pain in the ass, but she knew when to shut her trap when it was important.

"Look up when The Garlic's website was last updated, and try to hack in to whatever you can to see if it was the manager's phone number that was changed." She nodded and slid into a chair and powered up a waiting computer, and in the back of my mind I regretted not sitting somewhere cleaner than my hunched position on the floor.

"Sir?" I snapped back to attention at the voice in the phone, eyeing the damn loading symbol warily. 

"Have you decided not to be an ass and just answer my question?" There was yet another pause, and I breathed out a slow breath of air as the tracing program finally produced results.

"My partner, er, co-manager, wants to speak with you." I nodded though I wasn't visible and grunted as I turned back to Hanji, whose brow was furrowed as she worked to complete her task. 

"Eren Yeager has left The Garlic." I snorted, because the information had been obvious for the past phone call, but I didn't bother saying anything. "However, if you are who you claim to be, we can give you the location of his current whereabouts."

Hanji had turned her screen to me, but the results were unsurprising. This was not the number of the manager.

"That's fine. I'll look for him on my own." 

404 Rose Ct, an older building about ten minutes walking time from The Garlic. The 'managers' were there, and if my hunch was correct, so was Eren.

God, please be okay...


	13. Chapter 13

Eren's POV

 

I was wrong. I couldn't help Levi. I was worthless, useless trash. All I could do was hold desperately to my sanity as the pain consumed me, a throbbing from my head and a stinging throughout my body, in my heart. All I wanted to do was tear my captors apart, tear myself apart, do anything to stop the pain that was consuming me.

They had bitten me.

It wasn't even five minutes after smiling for the girls' picture that they came for me, and I regretted every wasted moment I simply stared at my food instead of eating it. Even that, even if all I had was garlic breath, I would've been more prepared for what happened next, what happened in the restaurant with the thick curtains and low light and overly priced pastas. I might not have even screamed as I did, out of shock that they came so fast and the sinking feeling whispering my defeat in my ear as I realized that I wasn't ready.

I had told myself that I would wait for them, would drive them into the sunlight or stab them with a wooden stake or distract them with my blood or do something that would keep me alive and be useful, but in the moment the two cloaked figures appeared in front of me I realized that my dreams had really only been just that: childish dreams to lift the weight in my mind that told me I was useless. There most certainly wasn't anything I could do when they warped me to someplace old and damp and smelling of mold and decay, when I was thrown to the concrete of the ground with inhuman strength.

I had tried to drag myself to my feet, to clear the dizziness and nausea I always got from warping to and from places, but I had been knocked back instantly. I had shuddered, had taken heaving breaths and struggled to stay silent, to not give them the satisfaction of hearing me scream, but god, it had hurt, had hurt so much, and vaguely I wondered how, with such terrible strength, Levi had been able to hold me gently.

One- did it matter which one?- had prodded me onto my stomach with his foot, leaning down and twisting my arm back and back and back and snapping something that hurt like a bitch and finally broke the damn, and as I sobbed and pleaded and screeched for mercy the other vampire came around to my other side. He had leaned down and taken my hair in his hand, tangling his fingers in it and jerking my head back violently to look at him as I continued to lay on my stomach. He had spoken to me, words given to the prey just before death:

"The Vampire King has good taste... I'll enjoy this..."

And I was right, I got something right, he was interested in my blood, but I was still useless, still powerless, still worthless. I saw white as two gleaming sharp teeth pierced through the back of my neck, sinking in deeper and deeper and somehow in my pain-consumed mind I remembered learning that vampires had to bite the part there to hit the right nerves, to exhaust life, to get direct access to a large vein.

I was almost grateful he began to feed, continuing with no regard to me as my screams and sobs and whimpers broke and died away as I grew lightheaded, and the pain grew numb. He didn't stop until his partner's phone began ringing, and when he did he ripped his fangs from the nape of my neck with a growl. Hot beads of my own blood dripped onto my neck and into my hair as he continued to hover over me, but it didn't matter. All thoughts were tumbling towards the phone call, to the side of the conversation I could hear. It didn't take much to understand who was calling, who the two vampires argued over before answering.

The one hovering over me demanded he be told a fake address, but the second his partner was hung up on he tried to pass all blame onto him for the idea. Now he was demanding that we run, that we leave before he gets here, and his response came as his partner drifted to look out a cracked and dirt-caked window.

"We were told not to leave until he either died or fully turned."

"Look, he's practically dead! Lets just take him with us and let him die wherever we- 

"Shit! He's already here! We have to go now!"

He was already here. Just like that, Levi hopped over to my side of the mountains. How often had he gone over here for me? Why the hell did he have to save me? I had wanted to be useful so fucking badly, yet here he was coming to save my sorry ass. He should just let me die, let me stay useless, but here he was and I wanted to just die from the pain and the guilt and the shame.

If I was going to die, I begged whatever divine spirit that had failed in looking over me previously to make up for it by letting me die quickly.

Levi had told me that he chose me because out of anybody he believed that I could survive this, but god, I didn't want to. I didn't want to live like this, like a monster, without the sun, with all this pain. Levi told me he thought I could survive this because of my strong sense of purpose, because of my mindset and confidence and strong willpower. In reality, those words were just fancy ways of saying that I was loud and cocky and arrogant, and anyone loud and cocky and arrogant knows why they are who they are. It's a ploy, an act, a way to hide cowardice and fear and pain.

If I gave up and let myself fall asleep, do you think I'd die?

I let my eyes close, ignoring the sudden sounds of surprise from my captors. That was probably Levi, entering the room, prodding the vampire that had bit me to warp us away. Belatedly I felt a lurch in the direction we were being materialized in; Levi had leapt to grasp at one of us and had been pulled along with us. 

I heard snarls and the clicks of teeth being snapped together, the building the two vampires were fighting in was much like the one we came from. My mind was unable to process much more than that, instead pushing me to pitch forward and hurl up what little I had consumed recently and almost fall forward into the mess as I swayed on my hands on knees.

I was shivering now too, the mild stinging that had been carried through my body in my blood turning to the feeling of the harsh sting of shoving bare skin into a pile of fresh snow. I knew I was hyperventilating as I focused solely on not getting a face full of bile and not shivering too violently for worry that I might disrupt the precarious balance I had established on my useless right arm. It still felt as if the entire arm had been ripped from my body, and I had no hope of ever regaining the ability to feel in it again. 

That is, assuming I die. Assuming I don't turn, assuming I don't have to live through hell to become a demon. All the pretty words said to Levi were just words, were only petty promises to make myself feel better. Because honestly, faced with it now, I wanted anything but to be what he was. We considered them a superior race, an honor to be chosen by, but none of us wanted to be them. None of us wanted to have to drink the blood of our own kind, to have to retreat from the Sun indefinitely.

What had I told him, what had I told him, that the night was beautiful? That being a creature of the night made him beautiful? I had said those things, I had, but that did shit to stop me from dancing through the road when I saw the Sun again. I should've known then that my promises had been see-through, but not until now did I realize how much I despised the idea of becoming like them, not until it was too late.

Oh, Levi. What are you going to do once I die? I hope I didn't mess up your schedule too terribly. I only wanted to be useful, I only ever wanted to be worth something, I never planned to get in your way. Maybe I should look up one last time, just to make sure that he was okay, because if I had to leave this world not sure of just how much of a useless idiot I had been I didn't want to leave at all.

It was a mistake. 

He was covered in blood, so much blood, and the fact that all of it was so obviously belonging to the carcass torn open at his feet made it more repulsive than if he had simply been dying alongside me. As I watched he kicked the dead vampire, pointlessly, heartlessly, and then he turned to look at me.

His silver eyes were dull, his hair matted and just as filthy as the rest of him, and through it all he smiled at me. He approached me slowly, the upward pull of his lips strained, and he reached out to take my arms. His eyes were glued to my right arm, and it suddenly occurred to me that he might not know that I was bitten, and in a mixture of emotions I ended up falling backwards in an attempt to escape his touch.

Fear, fear of the monster I had seen inside of him, fear of the monster I didn't want to become. Pain, so much pain, throbbing and piercing and begging to be let go and never be touched. Shame, for being useless, for being worthless, and for the expression I didn't want to see contort Levi's expression when he found out I had been bitten. Don't let him know what I've become...

As I scrambled backwards and away I dropped my weight for a moment of heavy breathing-filled rest, and the moment my skull hit the concrete I passed out from pain and exhaustion.

I never had to see Levi's expression when he found out I had been bitten, and I had never been more grateful for that fact.


	14. Chapter 14

Levi's POV

 

I wasn't aware that it was possible for time to slow down so dramatically, and never did I imagine that I would warp purely for the purpose of reaching for someone not a foot away from me. Yet here I was, pulling the beaten-looking brunet into something vaguely resembling a sitting position and letting him slump forward and rest all of his weight onto me where I had warped myself into a sitting position on his lap.

It took only a second to confirm that he was completely out of it, and though the thought was worrisome I was more concerned with the unnatural way his arm was bent and the amount of blood caking his hair and forehead. I imagined he must've hit his head pretty damn hard for those wounds to look like they did, and as fury began to rise from the pit of my stomach once more I felt my grip curl tighter around my chosen mate where my hands were resting on his shoulder and around his waist. 

I had pushed him off of me slightly to examine the damage those bastards had done to him, but as I let out a hiss of air I pulled him close and screwed my eyes shut tight as I tucked my head under his chin. The weight of his head on mine was solid but not uncomfortable, and after taking a deep breath I pulled away once more to avoid being lulled me into a false sense of security. I had only taken care of one of them, one of the people who did this to Eren, who hurt Eren. And shit, I was so selfish, because what hurt most wasn't seeing him in so much obvious pain even in his unconscious state, it was thinking that this could be it, that I could be left alone.

If I didn't save him in time, I would lose my chance at a happy life. If the little shit was awake now he'd argue with me, insisting that my definition of 'normal' didn't equal happiness and that even my idea of 'normal' itself was nowhere near sane, but he wasn't. He was a dead weight, heartbeat slow when I paused to listen, and somehow even when I took a small breath I didn't care to imagine what his blood would taste like. 

Strange, but not unheard of. Wanting something desperately simply because it's way out of reach, and then not caring when it lay in your hands. Literally, here, what had been clouding my mind slightly whenever I was in his presence was all over him, all over me now, but I did nothing. I didn't want to do anything, only wanted for this stupid kid to wake up and scold me for coming too late, to prove that I still had a chance at a normal life.

It wasn't fair, not after all the shit I had to go through waiting for this shitty brat, it wasn't fair that he lay unconscious and smelling like-

Fuck.

No.

Not after all of this.

I snapped his head forward, hand tangled in his hair and eyes growing wide at the two obvious bite marks on the nape of his neck, positioned perfectly over the correct nerve and oozing a smell of decay that rivaled the nasty dead-looking quality of the flesh around the wound. How was I supposed to deal with this? What did I do? Fuck if I knew, I was born a vampire and hadn't ever witnessed firsthand how to handle someone who was turning.

Turning. Eren was turning, my Eren, my chosen mate, my hope for a life outside of ruling and fighting and killing, my last hope for anything happy in my eternal prison of being the undead. He was turning, and as much as I hated it, as much as it terrified me, I couldn't let myself believe anything else, not when the only other option was that he was dying. He would live, my last hope would live, and when he woke up I could tease him about not being able to warp with how weak of a stomach he had.

As I thought it I warped us back to my castle, to the large dining room that had been set up temporarily as an infirmary. Tueur had begun to make moves all across the game board, and we had lost countless in the fight against them, the wounded seeking momentary refuge here. 

I didn't realize I was yelling for Hanji until that shitty four-eyes appeared at my side, silently gesturing for me to move from where I was still sitting in the brat's lap. Her expression was grim, eyes dancing back and forth between the arm and his head, and like me when she registered that the smell of death was coming from him she immediately moved to see the back of his neck.

"Oohhh, that's..." She paused, looking down at me where I had stood and was now clenching my hands together in an effort not to warp away in a mad chase after the remainders of Eren's captors and tormentors. "Levi, you know there's nothing that can be done except for..."

"I know, Shitty Glasses." I sighed, gaze drifting over to Eren. "I know..."

Hanji gave me one last sympathetic look before rushing off to tend to someone that could actually use her help, and I sighed before bending down to scoop my chosen mate off the ground and clutch him to my chest despite the blood and filth, warping us to my room. Our room? Didn't it stop being his room after I had sent him home? 

I shook my head slightly, forcing myself into reality. I took Eren into the side tower and got the bath started, frowning at the thought of how long it would take for the massive tub to be filled even with its multiple spouts before shifting to spend the time waiting staring down at the brunet I had taken away from humanity's side of the mountain twice now.

By doing this, by working to clean him up and make him as comfortable as possible, I was admitting that I would let him turn. It was cruel, I knew that, it was wicked to let someone turn who didn't want to be a vampire, but I couldn't bring myself to carry out the alternative, to put him down before then, to kill him. How could I kill my last hope?

When the tub was full enough I hopped into the water, letting Eren half float on his back and half supporting him with one arm while the other busied itself stripping him down. I averted my eyes and kept his boxers on, reaching for the washcloth I had grabbed and beginning to clean up the brunet in silence before I sighed and the release of breath echoed through the bathroom.

The last time we were here together, he told me that I was a beautiful creature created by the night, but somehow I doubted that that would be his reaction if he woke up.

No. Not if. When. He would wake up, he would, and he wouldn't hate me, he wouldn't hate me for letting him become a monster like me, he wouldn't hate me...

When I had finished cleaning him up, I grimaced as I did my best to set his arm back into place, relying on his soon-to-be-better than a human's healing abilities to heal it completely. I would allow myself to take a momentary break from the war with Tueur in favor of watching over my chosen mate as he turned, sitting upright next to him in bed.

Somehow, watching him turn from someone else's bite, I felt cheated.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the absence and only now showing up with two short chapters, but I never really plan out my fics and I realized I needed to stop and plan out the major plot points of the war and etcetera. If its any consultation, I'll try to update tomorrow, too

Levi's POV

 

He wasn't warm anymore. It was the only thing I was able to absorb in my current state of near panic, the only thing besides how close I was to losing my last hope. Eren was freezing cold, was as cold as I was. We were all this cold, were all this frigid from what some said was a mere lacking of a heart, but the fact that I knew these things and knew that what was happening to Eren was normal didn't change anything.

During the couple peaceful weeks we had together, his warmth had given me something to look forward to during my pointless rest, and now that it was gone I was all the more aware of the internal struggle my chosen mate was going through. Now that it was gone, I was realizing I had let it become such an important anchor for me that I couldn't just sit by his side as I had originally intended to. I had to move, had to warp across the castle to find an electric blanket from so many centuries ago to wrap around him, had to eventually worm my way into the blanket beside him, had to close my eyes and pretend that the warmth I felt was his.

It wasn't, though. Nothing I did could warm his skin, just as no amount of time in his arms previously would've warmed mine. He was still shivering violently as he adjusted to the new temperature the venom that was at fault had plummeted his body to. I kept his fingers wrapped tightly between my own, wiggling them every so often to make sure that his blood kept circulating through the fingers instead of shutting off to attempt to keep his core warm.

His blood. Oh, fucking hell, I hated the now-dead bastard who had done this to Eren. His arm and head had already begun to heal with the enzymes inside the venom prodding his repair system along, and part of me wanted to just count my blessings and thank Mr. Higher Power for keeping Eren as healthy as possible in his current state. The other part of me...

The venom that was released when Eren was bitten was originally used when vampires caught something they wanted to feed off of. It would run through the body to repair any damage or disease that could harm the vampire if they consumed it, then slowed all bodily functions down by 95%. We were odd that way, I suppose, but given the option we all would rather feed off something living than dead, and seeing as it could be difficult to hold something down as it thrashed for its life it can be incredibly useful to have some sort of poison that will make them weak and unwilling to fight.

Some millennia ago, something equivalent to the humans' Plague wiped out most of our population in the West. We called it the Cleansing, because the majority of those still alive had recently been joining one of the newer religious groups and were boasting to any who would listen how they were saved. The leaders of one sect of this newer religion put forth the theory that all who had been sinners were killed, thus the name of the pandemic, and while that religion had long since died out the name had stuck even until now.

Of course, we knew what the real cause behind all of those deaths were now, and I'm sure the crazed woman living in my castle and claiming to be a useful doctor has a model of what a blood sample of someone who had the disease responsible for the Cleansing would be like. Like with the Plague, those that made it through did so because of their genetics, not because of their faith. An entire chromosome had been deleted, one hell of a mutation, and with that many alleles missing it's obvious that more would've changed than just our resistance to the disease from the Cleansing.

Vampires had seven more chromosomes than a human did, eight more if you were born with the curse of living in darkness, and when some of us went through such a large mutation during their turning that they would only have six more instead of seven no one could tell from physical appearances. Beyond resistance to different diseases, there was only one other thing that chromosome affected: our venom.

Our bodies make more venom daily, and according to some of the more recent (and incredibly sickening) experiments Hanji had been working on it could be assumed that the venom that was made but not able to be stored in the roof of our mouth simply leaked out of our fangs in such small quantities that it was nearly unnoticeable. When we feed, venom is released the split second after we've latched our fangs into something to let the venom clean and calm our target.

With the mutation, the venom did something completely different, though in the end much more beneficial. Before the mutation, humans turned after somehow taking in vampiric blood. After, the necessary sequence of DNA was also included in our venom, and all those that were bitten turned. Since we had been brushing against being an endangered species, the more often turnings were a miracle for us. We were able to ease back into a once more comfortable population size within a hundred years, and as our need to keep our species alive waned we became less interested in searching for a human to feed off of.

Honestly, humans didn't have the purest blood anyway, and most of us were content with something from a deer or rabbit. I admit to being one of the few vampires that to this day prefer human blood over that of an animal's, but it had been hundreds of years since I had hunted for a meal instead of swiping something from a blood bank or something else along those lines. This was part of the reason Eren's blood had been so enticing to me, and laying next to him as my eyes bore a hole in his head where his bandage wrapped around and hid a healing wound I wondered how on earth I wasn't overcome with the need to try just a taste when my hands had been covered with his blood earlier. Eren's blood in particular had smelt oddly pure and incredibly warm, which was the reason why it had attracted so much attraction.

I was speaking in the past tense, though, and I was placing the blame on the asshole who did this to Eren as to why. He bit Eren, let the venom that would automatically inject itself into him enter his system in the nape of the neck where it would be most efficient, and now... Now I couldn't smell Eren's blood at all. The regulators and proteins that slowed down bodily functions performed slightly different with the mutation, and instead of reducing the organism's systems by 95% it instead affected only the heart, slowing it and slowing it and slowing it until it reached a pace that was impossible to be used to sustain life, and the organism dies. Dies, but doesn't stop living.

That was what I was, my heart slow as both my mother and father were bitten when they were young and they had "died" from their slowed hearts. When a vampire was born from two people that were already "dead," it could be said that they never really live. They're born with almost no blood in their systems, and have to immediately consume some before they really are sent to the grave.

Eren's blood was almost impossible to smell now because there was so little of it, having lost so much and then not having a properly beating heart to replenish. He would be starving when he finally woke up, starving and "dead," but there was little that I could do now. There was only this; huddling close and trusting that when Eren finally awoke he would be willing to drink the blood I had fetched for him earlier. Without it, or some type of blood, it was unlikely that he would survive...


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the delay :(  
> Hope this chapter is semi-worth it, though...

Eren's POV

 

I was hungry. Surrounded by darkness and the unbearable cold, my stomach cried out in protest as I tried to bury myself deeper into the unawareness around me rather than find food. The darkness was great, unfeeling and skilled in hiding my pain, so why should I leave it for something like food? My head and arm, the nape of my neck down the spine of my back and my top set of teeth. There was so much pain, dull throbs and excruciating spikes of pain combining to complete the torment I faced. If I stayed in the darkness longer, maybe the pain would fade, if only slightly...

...but shit, I was really hungry. So fucking hungry I didn't care anymore, my mind putting food first even now as I bent under the pressure of the pain I faced. Heh, typical teenager, I suppose, so I shouldn't be surprised. I gave my comforting darkness one last lingering tender thought before giving in to the apparent starvation I was facing, forcing my eyes open just slightly.

There wasn't much to see through my matted lashes, save for the dead weight half on my stomach and the lazy thought that Levi seemed to have turned on a light since I could see everything clearly- discounting the blurriness accounted for by my unawareness. I still clung to the last threads of sleep in the terror of what lay beyond it, though unconsciously I found myself letting these worries and fears go when I recognized the weight on top of me. 

Suddenly my muscles were stiff as my eyes snapped open, suddenly the pain was pushed to the back of my mind. He was so close, pressed so damn close, so close that I could count his eyelashes and if I just bent my head, just bent it forward just a little bit, I was so hungry, this would be okay, just lean forward a little bit-

"Eren?" I squeezed my eyes shut, refusing to meet his eyes, eyes betraying confusion hidden behind relief. 'What were you doing?' his eyes asked, those little stars confined to his face wanted to know an answer I refused to give them. "Don't feign sleep, brat, you need to eat something anyway."

Still I kept my eyes closed as the Vampire King moved away and out from under what I was finally registering to be an electric blanket. Why would he need that? Hadn't he said before how warm I was? I didn't feel warm now, though, couldn't feel anything but the cold and the pain and the unbearable hunger, and finally I groaned and pulled myself into a sitting position to open my eyes and search for where Levi had gone. I didn't have to look far, as he was standing on my side of the bed holding a warm glass of something that smelled almost sickeningly sweet, but at this point, anything would do.

"Eren, just..." If I had cared, I would have paused to question the troubled look in his eyes as I reached for the goblet, but I didn't. All I wanted was to get something into my stomach before it began to eat itself, and even if what I was eating would end up being overripe pineapple juice it would be worth the pain that shot through my arm as I raised the drink to my mouth, worth the confusion when the drink came in contact with a couple of my teeth sooner than expected, worth the throbbing in my mind and all throughout my mouth, worth-

And then I tasted it. It was sweet, so, so, so sweet, and had it been anything else I would've downed it. But I knew that taste from bloody lips and sucking small cuts on my fingers in school, from the fights I used to get into. I knew the taste of blood, knew it well, and no matter how hungry I was I refused to become a monster.

The cup had been dropped the moment I got a taste of its contents, blood staining the covers and electric blanket separating me from having to feel the nauseating warmth of what I had tried to drink. What little had made it into my mouth was immediately spit out, and soon I was dry heaving in an attempt to relieve myself of anything else, not wanting to take the chance that I had actually drunk any. I wasn't a monster, I wasn't banished to the darkness, I wasn't, I wasn't...

But that was a lie, wasn't it? I had known since I woke up that I had turned, and though I didn't acknowledge the fact it lingered and pushed at my consciousness until it burst through now to be fret over. It was why I could see in the darkness with such clarity, it was why I was so frighteningly cold, it was why I was in such pain, it was why I almost bit Levi when I first woke up in an attempt to eat something. I had been so desperate then to lean forward and sink my teeth, my fangs into him, and yet somehow I had managed to deny that I had actually become like the Vampire King until now.

"Eren!" I was suddenly aware of the words that had been falling on dead ears, and I flinched away from his voice, harsh and loud to suddenly sensitive ears. "Calm down... It'll be fine-"

"No!" The one word was torn from my throat, the rest of my thoughts left to jumble in my mind as I trembled and tried not to cry.

"Eren, please-"

"No! Fuck off!" Two more words. Not the most intelligent words, but to be able to talk at all impressed me. "You can't make me be like you!"

His flinch was visible, but it did nothing to change my expression as I glared at him and pinned him down with an accusatory glare. He opened his mouth to say something, but after a moment he closed his mouth and looked down with guilt plastered across his face.

"Eren, I'm sorry that this happened-"

"Sorry? You're fucking sorry? I am too, but look what good that's doing for me! You should've done something, anything, yet you stood by and watched and let me become a monster-"

"Would you rather I had killed you?" His words cut through my own as he looked back up at me sharply, but just as quickly as his expression had turned hostile it turned guilty once more, shame dragging his eyes down to fixate on the blood seeping into his blankets. "I'm sorry, Eren, but I couldn't kill you. I know it's cowardly, but... I couldn't kill..."

"You couldn't kill me because you still have that fucking stupid idea of what being happy is like." Once more he flinched, and this time it fueled me on. He deserved this, deserved this and so much more, what did he know about the pain I felt? The hunger that consumed me? He was born a monster, he never had anything to lose. But with me... "I've lost so damn much, you asshole! How do you think it fucking feels to be torn from everything you ever knew? I took small comfort in the fact I was supposed to be proud, supposed to be perfect if I had been chosen. It was supposed to be an honor! But then you-"

"Eren, please..." His voice broke on the last word, but I ignored him.

"But then you had to ruin even that for me, telling me that I wasn't actually special, that being chosen wasn't actually an honor. It was a sick way of keeping your race alive, and being chosen meant only that you had taken a guess at who had the strongest spirit and chosen me. Well guess what, Levi?" There was only silence, and when I continued I was all but snarling at the raven-haired monster. "You were right- I survived. Congratu-fucking-lations! Two hundred years of waiting, and you were able to guess correctly. I hope you're goddamn happy, but with your shitty idea of how happiness works, how it's supposed to depend on what you define as normal, you probably aren't."

The room seemed unnaturally silent after I had finished, only broken by my heavy breathing as I tried to calm down. It was so much easier to be mad at Levi than it was to feel the hurt or hunger, but if the asshole didn't respond it was hard to keep my hostility from fizzling out. After a long moment I shook my head almost imperceptibly, turning away from the Vampire King as I lowered myself back into the bloodstained sheets. I was so cold, it would be okay if I just rested a little, wouldn't it? Maybe in sleep my hunger and pain would fade, maybe this would all turn out to be a dream. 

Maybe Sasha would skip a meal and Jean would be less of a horse.

I buried my head in the blanket, in the still-wet-with-blood blanket, feeling ready to cry when my mind began to haze over at the sweet smell. I was still so hungry, so fucking hungry-

"Eren..." My breathing grew heavier as I tried to focus on his voice, on the hand I could just barely sense hesitating as it reached for me. Focus on him, don't get lost in the desire to feed. Don't lose what little humanity you have left. "Eren, I tried to warn you that night in the bathroom, I told you I didn't want this to happen-"

"You did a real swell job of keeping your side of the promise made there, Levi." The hand hovering over my head froze, and I knew I had struck a chord. That promise had meant so much to him, though inwardly I knew I had thrown away what had been said then long ago.

"Eren, please-" it wasn't even a second after his fingertips made contact with my head did I turn at a nauseating speed, giving into my hunger and the desire that had first consumed me when I had just woken up. 

I heard his voice break off as my fangs sunk into his hand, and waiting for a slap or something worse I shrunk back slightly and closed one of my eyes, keeping my fangs well sunk into his flesh. Already I felt relief, felt my hunger subsiding as my fangs grew hot and I drank from the Vampire King's hand.

"...Okay....okay..." His voice was soft, oh-so-very soft and weak and helpless and sad sounding, but I felt no remorse for what I had said as I continued to feed off of him. His words were those of acceptance, staring down at me and accepting my actions without protest. It was only after my stomach had stopped its complaints of being forgotten did I let go of his hand and turn back around to keep my back facing him, but even then he refused to let me rest in peace. He slid into bed next to me, pulling me close and wrapping an arm around me. I shuddered, then shuddered again, then began to cry. 

"I-I'm s-so sor-hic!-sorry! I'm so s-so sorry L-Levi! I'm so... F-fuck..." He said nothing, tightening his grip on me and letting me get this out of my system. "I wa-hic!-was so scared! I only wanted to he-help, I promise, I o-only ever wanted to he-help... Now look a-at m-me! I-I'm a f-fucking m-mon-monster!"

I don't know how long we lay there, my only comfort the steady sound of his breath. An itch in the back of my mind wanted to know how he could stand to breath when his nose was buried into the back of my neck, but I let the thought fade as my own breath became slightly more stable. It was almost difficult to calm my gasping breath, almost difficult to find what a steady pace was, almost difficult to continue with the act that I was human, and I wondered numbly how Levi was able to mimic the action so perfectly when he had never once actually had to breath. 

I was dead now, dead and wishing I had payed more attention in class when this was covered. When someone turned, something happened to their heart... It didn't end up mattering, really, because in the end the person could be classified as "dead," and that was really all that concerned me. Dead people don't need breath or whatever the fuck else, dead people don't need blood or food, so if I could just-

"You're not dead." Levi's voice, quiet but firm, put an abrupt end to my half-formed plans to starve myself, and I shuddered at how accurately the Vampire King was able to guess what I was thinking. "You're not dead, Eren, and I don't plan on letting you ever get there. Here-" he move on of his hands to wrap around one of my wrists, dragging that hand to rest over my heart. It was faint, but...

He was right. I wasn't dead.

"Don't refuse yourself food or breath just because you think you're dead, or better off that way. While it's true you won't need as much breath, and at times it may feel like you don't need any at all, feeding is more important than anything now. A common misconception is that we drink blood; in reality our fangs suck blood in and check to see if it's compatible with your blood type before adding it into your circulatory system to help your slow heart keep up with the rest of your body. It's possible to skip a meal, but only if you spend all day in bed and don't do anything that would normally raise your heartbeat." I sniffled, keeping my hand over my heart as my other hand wrapped around the wrist of Levi's hand and pulled it tighter around me.

I just wanted him to shut up, to stop making my mind ache from struggling to take all of this in, but he continued to speak, and I continued to listen. Despite my argument against his words, they calmed me slightly, as they would anybody. Fear comes from confusion and ignorance, and Levi was doing his best to make sure I knew exactly what was happening to me so that I could keep my head when all I wanted to do was throw something.

"I have type O blood, so I don't really have to worry about much, but just from smell alone it's easy to guess you don't. Your body was able to accept my blood fairly well, as you haven't begun convulsing and trying to expel the foreign blood yet, but we'll still need to get Hanji to draw up specifics on your blood so we can make sure we feed you properly. Do you understand?" I nodded meekly, unsure of what to say so deciding to stay silent.

The pain in my head and stomach and chest had faded slightly, leaving a dull throb in my head and the roof of my mouth, but I wasn't being eaten away at by hunger or the freezing temperature as I had been before, though I still felt unnaturally cold. Though I had done nothing to deserve it, Levi's presence was comforting on my back, and internally I wished that we'd never have to move from this spot.

"Levi?" There was no response, but I knew he was listening. "Thank you. And... I'm sorry. None of this would have happened if I had just listened to you, if I had just stayed hidden or with my guards or back here at the castle with you or-"

"It's fine." I closed my eyes as my own words died in response to his, nodding slightly to myself. "It'll be okay, and you weren't the only one that made mistakes. I'm sorry, too."

"...thank you, Levi..." I felt him nod, and I sighed. Maybe, just maybe, it would be okay if I got a second shot at being Levi's chosen mate...


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extra chappie <3

Levi's POV

 

It didn't take long for Eren to fall asleep once he had calmed down, and once he had I sighed and did my best to get out of bed without waking him before giving up and just pushing myself out of the brat's grip. Despite how I wished to stay here with him and make sure he would still be okay when he woke up, I still had a war to fight, and I couldn't endanger the entire kingdom for a single one of Tueur's victims.

I convinced myself that it would be okay to take a quick shower before warping down to the dining room, searching out a maid so that I could feed a little before finding Erwin to see if I had missed any major developments. The high ceilings and flickering candlelight of the dining room was usually relaxing, but the second I materialized at my usual spot near the head of the table I grew tense and wary of the atmosphere.

The wooden beams running across the ceiling we covered with guards and nobility alike that had assumed their bat form, and contrasting with the usual soft hum of noise that was usually present here the scurrying footsteps of a maid that had noticed my presence echoed in otherwise dead silence.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" There was no answer, and I could sense the maid cowering at my side as her gaze flicked from me to the subject of my glare: the bats that were now ruffling their wings slightly. A few of them looked at each other, forming a mutual agreement that one of them drop from the ceiling to land on humanoid feet in front of me. He bowed, and, with his head still down and eyes closed, gave his explanation of the situation.

"We refuse to fight if the day guards will be fighting alongside us, Your Highness." I blinked, then blinked again.

"...Who the hell gave the day guards the order to fight?" The day guards were human, the few chosen mates that chose to enlist in service to the kingdom alongside their vampiric partners. They would be day guards until they were bitten and turned, and then they would join a regular night shift.

"Commander Erwin, Your Highness." I scowled, eyebrows being drawn together as I waved the guard away.

"Dismissed. I'll go find that shit-for-brains Eyebrow Freak and find out why he'd make a shitty move like that." The guard rose to his full height before turning and shifting into a bat in one fluid motion, once more joining the group on the ceiling. I turned to the maid that had watched the scene with wide eyes next, refusing to give up my intended meal. I wouldn't say anything to the brat, but he drained a lot of my blood in the act of replenishing his own, and now I felt almost woozy and knew there was no way I could fight in a war like this.

After downing three goblets of warmed blood and flipping off the maid that tried to stop me from getting a fourth, I warped to the throne room in hopes that Commander Shitwin would be there. He was, once more standing over the large map laid out and frowning down at the little pins informing me that we had lost still more land to Tueur. 

"Levi." He seemed almost surprised to see me, his expression relaxing slightly as I raised one eyebrow. "I heard from Hanji. About Eren. Is he...?"

"Brat's okay enough that he can drain enough of my blood to keep himself going." Erwin was frowning again, confused, but I simply raised my hand and tapped at the base of my thumb looking unamused. "Little shit bit me when I was trying to get him to listen to me."

"Really?" I didn't miss the glint of amusement behind his eyes, but I was quick to wave the subject away before I lost my original goal in finding the commander of my troops.

"Really." I glanced back at the map, expression settling into one of annoyance. "I heard you ordered the day guards to fight with us."

Erwin's expression grew grim, and he turned his face back down to look at the map. I knew there had to be an explanation for what he was doing, there always was, but with my mind clouded with the events of the past day and trying to take care of my chosen mate I was struggling to see it without guidance.

"Think, Levi. We're hopelessly out numbered, even more so if you discount the civilians that support our cause but can't fight. We need a way to take the upper hand, and this is it." I moved closer to the map as he tapped on one of the few neutral zones left, neither us nor Tueur finding the old mine shaft particularly useful at this point in war. "I talked with Pixis, the vampire in charge of keeping these shafts in good condition, and he said all of the carts were made from the same element found in the walls of the room humanity's government hides away in because of its convenience."

"You want to use it against Tueur?" Erwin nodded, and though I was frowning I was beginning to see through his plan. That was the material that prevented us from warping, and if we could use it to our advantage..."We can use whoever to get the carts, and after they had been melted down we could use the metal to build our own room..."

"Right. Lure Tueur into the room, close the door and lock it, and set fire to some kerosene or gun powder we could set up inside the room. The only problem would be that one of our own would have to be sacrificed..." I snapped my head up to meet Erwin's eyes, gaze cold and firm.

"If you think I would sacrifice our day guards just because they're humans, then you're just as bad as the piece of shit we're fighting against." Erwin shook his head, unsurprised by my assumption but not alarmed either.

"I know. Which is why I eliminated that plan of action. Instead of building a room with the metal, what if we coated bullets with the metal?" I tilted my head back slightly, considering. Neither us nor Tueur had been using a lot of guns, as they were mostly ineffective on vampires, so battles had been fought with close combat. Though we could heal from a lot of things, no one could reattach a head.

"Tueur would immediately know something was off" Erwin nodded, but his eyes burnt with the determination to prove that his plan would work.

"We would have to begin the battle as the Sun began to rise, so hopefully we could just shoot as many of them as we could before we had to warp out ourselves. However, it's unlikely that Tueur would send a large amount of troops to a battle taking place just before the Sun rose anyway, so we have to do this slightly differently." He looked back down at the map, moving the finger that had been tapping at the old mine's location to hover over one of the few towns that we still had control over.

"An ambush?" Erwin nodded, looking back up at me.

"What we would do would be to have our day guards stand in for some of the civilians there, and when everyone is lined up to be searched we have others, perhaps on rooftops, begin shooting at Tueur to create enough of a distraction for everyone else to take out their guns and join in. As they shot at Tueur they would begin leading them further and further away from the village, so when the sun came up Tueur would be faced with direct sunlight, nowhere to hide, and the inability to warp." I nodded slowly, the shadow that I had known was behind my eyes beginning to disappear with this new plan.

"When do those shitheads line everyone up? This won't be effective if they do it at a time when our day guards would have trouble holding then off." Erwin's expression turned smug, and internally I grimaced at the thought of the praise Commander Eyebrows would be expecting.

"Right before dawn. It's the only way that they can make sure that civilians don't just warp away or shift into bats- if Tueur can suffer through slight pain of the rising sun, so will the civilians, and it would be easier to keep a handle on their movements." I nodded, my lips twitching upward with relief and exhilaration. 

"This could work..." Erwin nodded, then reached one of his pockets to draw out a small bullet, dropping it onto the table. "You've already had the bullets made?"

"Apologies for not seeking permission first. You were with Eren for quite awhile, you know." I waved his apology away, reaching out to pick up the bullet but dropping it immediately after coming into contact with it. I had never come into direct contact with the metal before, and I shuddered as I realized how the discomfort of being surrounded by it paled with actually touching it.

"How the fucking hell were you able to carry that shit around all this time?" Erwin chuckled, though he grimaced slightly.

"Someone had to test to see if it would work. Even just carrying it, I was unable to warp. If it was actually inside of someone..." He shuddered slightly, and I nodded grimly. It would hurt like hell, probably, but there was nothing we could do or really even that we should do to spare our enemy.

"Good. It's about time we found a way to win this shitty war. I'll talk with the protesting troops, so you make sure everything is in place and that we have enough day guards staying here to actually do their job." Erwin nodded, and then both of us warped to our respective destinations in preparation to show Tueur that we, too, could fight and win.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some fluff to help cushion the coming angst--

Eren's POV

 

Ever since I was small, I've always hated waking up alone. It's rare that I remember what I'm waking up from, but more often than not I'm left with an overwhelming sense of loneliness and pain, the hopelessness caused by a looming shadow too dark to be dispelled. Mikasa usually wound up sleeping with me so that she was ready to comfort me when I needed it, though she made no small amount of jabs at how tired she was on the nights I kept her up longer than I let her sleep.

I never really discovered what the cause of my unknown night terrors was, and over time my nights became more restful and I was able to sleep without someone on standby to let me know that I wasn't alone. Some nights, though, I would find myself tip-toeing into my adopted sister's bedroom to slip under the covers with her for what should've been no reason at all. I could've dreamt of pleasant things, maybe I even woke up and managed to not stare too long at the dark abyss of my closet that held monsters I knew didn't exist, but I would still search for someone's presence to gravitate towards.

Perhaps that was why I didn't put up much of a fight when Levi told me that I would be sleeping with him, though the facts that he was a king and that he was someone I had to figure out how to act like a lover around definitely played a part too. And it was nice to have someone pressed so close to me, even if they were nearly as cold as death and would be ridiculous to do something like hold their breath throughout the entire night-er, day- just so that they weren't tempted to taste my blood.

In the relatively short time I stayed with the Vampire King, I accidentally grew used to his presence as I coaxed myself into sleep, and while it wasn't the type of scene you see in romance movies so I can't say that it was really what we were supposed to do as mates, I enjoyed the small moments when we were both awake but too lazy to get up. 

Sometimes neither of us would even move, Levi staying curled up against my side and not bothering to hide the fact that he was trying to leech off my warmth as we let our conversations stay unspoken. Other times he would roll away from me and sit up in bed to read, and I would reach over to the nightstand on my side of the bed and grab my phone to spam Connie or respond to missed calls and messages from Mikasa or screw around on the Internet. It was nice in a quiet sort of way that one leaves unsaid, and I missed the peace and warmth of it. Even after I had just turned, when I was starved and freezing cold, I took small comfort in the consistency of Levi's presence.

When I woke up next, I woke up alone.

It wasn't like I could really blame him; neither of us had actually said that we would keep up with the act of caring expected of mates and I knew he had a kingdom to take care of and a war to win. Still, I couldn't help feeling a bit of resentment and an almost bittersweet feeling as I dragged myself deeper under the covers, taking silent note of how the blankets, including the electric one, had been replaced with ones not covered with blood. I was still cold, but most of the pain had faded save for a dull throb in the back of my head and I wasn't so tormented by hunger as I had been last time.

I sighed, silently sending a prayer out to whichever god fucked up my life so terribly that they would hurry the fuck up and fix it before it got worse before making a dive for my phone and quickly retreating back into my cocoon of blankets once I had grabbed it. I groaned at the amount of missed calls and texts from Mikasa and even Armin and Marco, but I was smiling. I hadn't been in contact with them since I left the apartment in an effort to be useful to Levi, so it made sense for them to worry, and secretly it made me feel at home when they all showed that they cared, even in a way like this. 

I wasn't sure how much I should say, and I really didn't know how much I wanted to say, so I bit my lip as I sent out a group text simply stating that I was breathing and being taken care of by Levi, not wanting to address the sore spot on the nape of my neck until I had to, as they would be worrying about me enough and there was no need for them to know that I wasn't human. To my surprise there was also a text from Levi, though it didn't portray the same hysterical worry as the ones from Mikasa & Crew did.

>>>If you're still hungry, go down to the great hall and find Hanji. She'll be busy taking care of some wounded, but if you show her you fangs she'll remember what's been going on and stop and help you- Shitty Glasses has a bad habit of forgetting anything not dealing directly with what she's doing at the moment. Don't starve yourself. I'll be back soon.

I sighed, debating whether to respond or not before giving in and sending a quick response thanking him and telling him to stay safe- I would be less than amused if I had to deal with all this crap on my own. I turned my phone back onto silent after that, tossing it onto my nightstand before groaning and sliding out of bed, wincing when my bare feet made contact with the tile that may have well just have been ice.

I dragged myself first over to the large wardrobe, looking through the parts of it containing the clothes Levi had had made for me and picking out whatever looked the most comfortable. In all honesty, all of the clothes were way beyond any quality I would've dreamt about having before being chosen, but with my body still getting used to this freakishly low temperature I made a dive for the heavy coat that went with the shirt I had grabbed.

After having picked out clothes and once more wondering at how the hell I didn't look ridiculous clothed like royalty, I made my way up the small flight of stairs into the bathroom connected to the room's turret. I would never get over just how cool it was, and how big and clean it presented itself as, but today I cursed as I stubbed my toe on the last step and grumbled to myself as I waited for the tub to fill up enough that I could seek comfort in its warmth.

Having succeeded in making the tub more like a swimming pool than not, I stripped and slipped into the warm water, sitting on the bottom of the tub and letting out a stream of bubbles with a sigh. On a whim I stayed at the bottom of the tub, refusing to let myself come up for air as I tested how long I could hold my breath now that I was "dead". After only a few seconds, however, my lungs were burning, and I broke through the water of the tub with a gasp. And though I was slightly confused, I was more shocked that Levi was able to hold his breath through hours on end. I shuddered to imagine-

"Harder than it looks, isn't it, brat?" I let out a startled, very manly yelp as I dunked myself back under the water to hide, but after a second taken to calm myself down I raised my head out of the water once more and turned to glare at Levi, who was chuckling as he leaned against the door frame.

"Asshole. Could've warned me about your Peeping Tom tendencies." Levi rolled his eyes, raising a hand to cover his eyes.

"My mistake. Am I allowed to look at my chosen mate as I fill him in on how this shitty war is progressing?" I sighed but told him that he could, thanks for asking, and he gave me something close to a smile before leaving the doorway and closing the door behind him as he came closer to sit cross-legged by the edge of the tub.

"Are we winning?" I sighed as his brows drew together, taking it as a sight that things weren't much better than the last time I was informed of the situation.

"It's... Hard to say." I raised an eyebrow, and the Vampire King slid his hands back behind him to lean back and stare up at the ceiling. "We've set up an ambush. For Tueur, in one of the few cities that they haven't taken from us yet. There's a metal that we found large quantities of that prevents us from warping, and we coated bullets with the material to shoot at the troops that come. In theory, they'll burn up in the Sun because they can't warp out of the light and we'd have effectively fought back. Unfortunately, we can't really go through with it ourselves, so only the unturned mates that act as day guards and the troops humanity sent us can partake."

I blinked, surprised but slightly pleased at the progress, and after a moment sent Levi a grin. He looked more surprised to see me smile than I had been to hear that we had found a way to fight back, and I let out a breathy laugh at his surprise before my amusement vanished as I realized where his gaze had been locked onto: my fangs. I looked down, lowering my lower half of my face under the water and releasing an angry stream of bubbles. When I spoke I didn't bother to lift my mouth above the surface of the water, but from my expression and Levi's reaction I knew my point was understood: Don't stare at them.

"Sorry. It's just... Well, new." I sighed, waiting for him to give me some 'new isn't always bad' crap. "I know you hate this, Eren, but it's too late to fix the shit that happened to you. You didn't know what the hell would happen when you were dumb enough to try and get yourself kidnapped in an effort to help me, and as much as I want to blame your ass for all the trouble it caused me I know that your own regret is burdensome enough. No one can predict the consequences of an action, but you have to come to terms with the shit that happened to you. You're not human anymore, kid..."

"I know..." My voice was barely a whisper, wavering as I admitted to it. I knew it, I knew I was a monster now. I knew I was a creature of the dark, but that didn't mean that I had to like it. Levi sighed, and I looked up at him through the bangs drooping in front of my eyes to catch him sit up straight and reach over to dip a couple of his fingers into the bath water before grunting and looking back at me.

"Am I allowed to join you?" I spluttered out excuses in immediate response to the question, but Levi had already tugged off his shirt and was slipping out of his pants as I yelped and turned to hide both myself from his view and him from my own vision. "Relax, brat. I won't bite."

"Somehow I doubt that..." I received a thorough head-dunking for the grumbled comment, and by then Levi had joined me. I still felt slightly uncomfortable with someone else so close while I was completely naked, but he ignored my discomfort and instead kept my head tilted down slightly to examine my neck.

"This is healing nicely- Hanji's mate couldn't move his head around for a few days because his wound hurt so fucking much. Though, in retrospect, that could've just been because Hanji's Hanji..." I yanked my head out of his grip, glaring at him for a moment before letting my annoyance evaporate with a sigh.

"It still hurts..." I had really only meant the comment as another jab and perhaps a way to be left alone to wallow in my misery, so I was genuinely surprised when Levi frowned and turned me around again.

"Here?" I flinched as his fingers brushed against the wound, and he sighed. "Figures. That's not the actual bite- the asshole that did this to you didn't remove his fangs cleanly and it ripped part of the skin away. Do you want me to go down to find Hanji so you can take a pain suppressor?"

"Ah, no, that's okay... It doesn't hurt that much, I just..." I gave a weak smile as the last part of my defense as I turned back around to face the Vampire King, who rolled his eyes and flicked at my forehead as I sank deeper into the water out of embarrassment.

"Brat. Don't make people worry unnecessarily. I'll make sure you're hurting next time you do, and I can't promise you'll look quite as pretty when I do." I blinked, unsure how to take anything in that sentence, opening and closing my mouth in a way that I was sure was making me look like an idiot. "Oh, for fuck's sake, brat, yes, you're allowed to take that as a compliment. Don't let it go to your head, though, or else I might take it back." 

I giggled, torn between hiding my face to keep the red on my cheeks a secret and making a face at him as I replied. I ended up sacrificing part of my dignity to turn my head upwards to face him before sticking my tongue out and winking, and the expression of exasperation on Levi's face was well worth it. "Oh, it's far too late for that."

"Jesus Christ, the hell did I get myself into by choosing you..." I laughed and let the question go unanswered, instead leaning against the edge of the tub and looking down at the water as I tried to make mini-tornados with my fingers. This was nice, the playful bantering producing an almost surreal feeling after my life had gone to shit a couple days ago. Levi tilted his head back slightly when I caught his eye but didn't say anything, eventually dismissing my obvious shitty brattiness and instead tossing some soap at me. "Come on, kid, I can't imagine you started this bath because you wanted to become a humanoid prune, so start cleaning yourself up. I'll get you something to eat afterwards, preferably not from my hand."

"Ah, um, sorry... About that..." Levi waved my apology away, and after a moment of silence I gave him a relieved smile and did as I was told. I wasn't thrilled about the idea of eating after this, but Levi was right: I had to come to terms with this, and I think in his own way his harmless insults had been him trying to comfort me. Showing me that it was okay, you're not starting over, you're was still a brat and you're still able to laugh. That shorty may be a little devil, but he really did try. "...Thanks, Levi."

"For what?" I looked over at him to find him staring back at me with a blank expression, and after a moment of our eyes locking he blinked and returned to cleaning himself. "Don't thank me for things unnecessarily. Kindness won't get you anywhere with me, idiot."

I rolled my eyes but smiled, and didn't point out to the shorter vampire that he had once more given me a reason to thank him. Maybe I had missed something, because if I didn't know any better, I'd say that even after all this the idiot was still after my heart.


	19. Chapter 19

Levi's POV

 

After a surprisingly satisfying and not-as-embarrassing-as-one-would-think bath, Eren managed to surprise the both of us and keep down the blood I had given him. I still couldn't give him anything but type O, and I was pushing it by not matching positive and negative types, but until we had a break there wasn't much of a chance to get his blood tested. He flinched when the warm liquid touched his fangs, but at my incredibly kind and eloquent prodding he squeezed his eyes shut and kept the glass raised to his mouth.

"Come on, you shitty brat, I don't feel like donating blood again." His fingers tightened slightly around the glass, the tips of his fingers going white, but after a moment he began actually feeding and managed to get down half of what I had given him before he flinched away and just barely managed to avoid spilling blood all over himself. "Close enough. Set down the rest of it on your nightstand and get into bed; if you're hungry later you'll have something ready."

"Why do I have to get into bed? I just spent a bunch of time knocked out and then fell back asleep, I'm not tired..." I snorted and rolled my eyes, gesturing once more for Eren to give in and climb into bed to rest some more.

"And you also changed your entire identity through changing your race, while I've sat around and stared at a map. Go to sleep." The brunet frowned, but I was already turning to collect my phone from its charger before warping back to help Erwin begin on our next-

"No." I let out a long sigh, turning again with shoulders slumped and expression unamused, and watched with an unblinking gaze as he crossed his arms in a stance he obviously thought was convincing. It wasn't.

"Eren. Get into bed." My words were met with a shake of the head, and I reached up to rub at my temples in an effort to calm myself. 

"Levi, you've been up for days now! I know you have to lead everyone, but you said that there's an ambush, right? One that you can't take part of? You have to use this time so that you'll be ready when you have to fight next." To my great frustration and to the taller vampire's satisfaction, I yawned when I opened my mouth to reply, and though I tried to hide my fatigue the damage was done. "No use arguing now, Levi! Tell you what, I'll go to bed too. I can't say I'll fall asleep, so I promise I'll wake you up if someone comes to try and fetch you. Deal?"

"What kind of deal is that? A shitty one, if you ask me." Eren stuck his tongue out, and I fought to hold in an exasperated sigh.

"Well I wasn't asking you, so come on, Levi- I'll... I'll start refusing to eat until you sleep some!" I snorted, unamused, because honestly it wasn't like there would be much of a difference, but...

I sighed, arms dropping from where they had been crossed in front of my chest and giving the bed a scornful look. It wasn't like I didn't want to sleep, but it just wasn't a luxury I could afford right now. At any given moment I might be needed, and though I was King all titles fall when in battle. The living are the fighting, and those that deserve respect are only those that can stay that way. Killing was how I earned this position of respect, and though I wasn't a fan of everything involved with being King I wasn't about to just walk away from it all because my chosen mate was telling me to sleep.

Telling me to sleep and threatening to starve himself.

"Well fuck you." Eren grinned as I walked stiffly over to the bed, not reacting when I sent an icy glare his way when he clapped his hands together in excitement.

"Thank you!" I grumbled out a whatever before crawling into bed, purposely sprawling out sideways so that I made it difficult for the brunet to slide into bed with me. "Goof ball. You were the one that wanted me to rest, too."

"And you were the one that pissed me off." He laughed, and I decided that I forgave him so long as he kept laughing. It was surprising what was soothing during war, but seeing other people happy was always a reminder that the world wasn't painted completely in shadow. Hearing the brat laugh might be an ear sore sometimes, but now it was good to be reminded that life wasn't complete shit.

I scooted closer to the younger vampire, expecting to be enveloped in warmth and scowling when I found his skin was almost as cold as mine. That wasn't fair, he was supposed to be warm so that I could steal away all of his heat while we slept during the day- maybe life was complete shit after all. Eren seemed to see through my thoughts and he grew silent, curling up into himself and making it thoroughly impossible to cuddle up close to him. That asshole.

"Don't be stupid, Eren." I didn't specify what he was being stupid about, but he was still able to decipher my words and gave me a doubtful look before straightening out slowly. I wrapped an arm around him and dragged him closer to me, set upon going through our lovers' act even without the boy's comforting heat. We could be cold together, I supposed, as I dragged the blankets up to my nose and Eren's neck.

It was only after a few minutes did he finally move to reach an arm around me, albeit hesitantly. I don't think he ever fell asleep, but even without his unnatural heat his presence was solid and welcome. I would never admit it to the brat, but I really did need to sleep, and soon I had lost all consciousness.

I was woken by a frantic shaking, and after groaning and curling my fingers into the bed sheets I peeked through one eye to find that Eren had shifted so that he was half sitting up with my head leaning against his side, and after catching the terrified expression on his face I blinked both eyes open and tried to focus on something other than how cold Eren's hand was where it was resting on my shoulder and still shaking me slightly. 

I dropped all sleepy remnants chaining me in one place once I had caught the presence in the room, the vampire that was most likely what Eren was transfixed by. I didn't bother following his gaze, warping us down to the barracks where a few vampire guards were trying to find sleep. Eren seemed not to catch up with reality for a moment, staring into space in the direction the intruder would've been had we still been in bed.

I was up in a matter of seconds, however, pacing back and forth and ignoring the now frantic questions of the guards around us. I knew this was bound to happen sooner or later, and it wasn't like it was the first attempt on my life, but it was still troublesome. 

When someone looked at the castle from the outside, the royal chambers doesn't look like anything other than a another tower. It's placed where it is for that one reason alone: so that no one would know and be able to warp into my room and assassinate me in my sleep. There was the possibility that someone had just gotten lucky, but something bothered me.

They hadn't moved. Whoever was in that room had been standing motionless, soundless, breathless, and had been standing there watching us. Had they not deemed Eren a threat and not acted because he was the only one awake at first? But why had they dismissed Eren like that? 

...How many people knew that Eren had turned?

How many people knew that he wouldn't die from a knife to the stomach anymore, that he was like us now? He didn't look like a threat, crumpled on the ground at my feet and staring up at me with wide, pleading eyes, but if his lips pulled back, if his fangs were showing... Theoretically, he's just as dangerous as anybody else here.

I stopped my pacing and squatted down so that I was at eye level with the brunet, flicking him on the forehead to break him from his trance.

"I have to get to Erwin. You have to stay with me. This isn't negotiable, so I don't want to hear any shit excuses right now." Eren nodded numbly, taking my hand and letting me warp us to the ball room and pull us from the ground in one motion. The blond shit-head I was looking for wasn't where I expected him to be, but I knew he'd be back here, so I decided to wait. I had to find a place where Eren would be safe, a place where no one could threaten the Vampire King's chosen mate.

If what we played was a game of chess, I knew I wouldn't be the king. I would be a night, maybe a queen, not the king. I held power in ability, but without me the world would keep on playing its game. If this were a game of chess and I were the queen, Eren would be the king by default. Capture the queen and the game is unaffected, capture the king and the game ends. If I was killed, my killer would become King and life would continue on. If Eren was killed, I would falter, the kingdom would trip and fall as I hesitated, and we would lose everything.

I had been scared of losing my chosen mate before, but it hadn't actually struck me just how it would affect me until the possibility was staring at us from the darkness. It had shaken me from the belief that my place to protect my kingdom was on the battlefield, and fuck if I wasn't going to do what I could to keep Eren safe.

Oh, shit, please keep that idiot safe...


	20. Chapter 20

Levi's POV

 

Eren had fallen back asleep by the time Erwin came back to the throne room to consult the large map littered with pins, hunched over in my mostly disused throne and clutching at the blanket I had fetched for him. Erwin raised an eyebrow at the brunet's presence but said nothing, waiting for me to make whatever point he could see on the tip of my tongue.

"There was someone in our room. They didn't attack, they were just... Watching. I want Eren somewhere where he'll be under constant watch- what the hell happened to his three guards from before?" Erwin frowned, glancing up at the ceiling.

"I though they were still doing their job... In any case, they must've joined up with the rest of the army after Eren was captured." I scowled, not in the least pleased with the idea of his guards abandoning him, though I could understand why they hadn't followed him into the Italian restaurant he had gone to. "We can reassign them when they're up-I ordered everyone with fangs to take this chance to sleep until the new night breaks while their human counterparts and those supplied by humanity's government fight for them. You should rest, too-"

"Oh, fuck off, I already got the same talk from Eren." Erwin blinked before chuckling, and I crossed my arms and glared at him in a futile attempt to shut him up.

"Perhaps that boy will be better for you than I thought!" I rolled my eyes, turning on my heel and strode over to the table with our map rolled out onto it to survey any new damage. There didn't seem to be any new places Tueur had taken, so I let myself breath a sigh of relief before turning to Erwin expectantly. I knew he couldn't actively take part the ambush we had set, but there was no way he was clueless either.

"You have someone on radio to let you know what the hell's happening out there?" Erwin hummed his answer, joining me at the table.

"I called Humanity's Council an hour ago, and they told me things seemed to go smoothly. Tueur got cocky when they saw their opponents were humans and ignored the bullets we shot at them, and when the Sun began affecting them it was too late. We only had a few that escaped, but we're hoping that since they couldn't have brought any bullets with them this will work once more before we lose the element of surprise and they wise up." I nodded- it was to be expected that not every enemy would be brought down.

"Have we begun preparations to take back any land?" Erwin moved to tap a city on the far end of the map, and I frowned. That was were rumors of Tueur first began to spread, so it was most likely their base. It was smart to head straight for the largest threat before news of our bullets spread very far, but that would be too far to walk for the human troops and who knew how much ammunition they had left?

"Remember the mine we took last night?" I nodded, eyes immediately gravitating towards it. "There's a shaft that runs all the way from the city just outside the palace to where we set the ambush, and another from there to where Tueur most likely set up their base. We can't warp with those bullets, so I sent some men to get to our human troops through this shaft. They'll hand off the special bullets, warp back here, and the day guards and the troops humanity's government provided will take that West shaft to Tueur's base."

"Okay, that could work, but we'll need a way to drag those shit-headed idiots into the Sun so that the bullets can play their part. Approximately what time will the human troops arrive underneath Tueur?" Erwin glanced at his watch, then back down at the map.

"About an hour before the Sun begins to set. What we need is a distraction, something to lure them outside. The only thing we could think of was if there was a proper bait, but..." Erwin glanced at Eren, and my eyes narrowed as I snapped my head up.

"We will under no circumstances drag Eren into this." My voice was sharp, but Erwin didn't react.

"Levi, you know we need him for this to work. If we could just-"

"No, goddamn it, I said he will be kept out of harm's way and that's final! He's not human anymore, anyway..." I sighed, my initial anger subsiding.

"Levi... You know just as well as I do that newly turned vampires are the least sensitive to the sun. If he was well protected, plenty of layers of clothing and that sunscreen stuff, he'd be fine." I frowned, glancing back at the brunet still slumbering on peacefully on my throne. Erwin was right-we would need good bait, and it had been proven before that Eren met that requirement where Tueur was concerned. No matter the stage of war, the mate of your opponent's king was a priceless hostage.

"Erwin..." My voice was low, warning. "If something happens to him..."

"Nothing will." The look in his eyes was firm and confident, and his voice didn't waver, but still I found myself hesitating. There was no guarantee that this would even work, let alone that Eren would get through this safely. As it was, I was reluctant to leave his side for longer than a minute. But if this war kept on, there was no telling how many days I'd be woken by that same shake and terrified gaze, by a predator silently watching us, watching him, waiting for a chance to kill us, to kill him...

"Fine." Erwin smiled smugly, though he seemed unsurprised. That shitty excuse for a commander was always like this, expecting for his plan to be accepted and to work out perfectly. Usually the bastard was right. This time, however... "But if we're going to do this, we're going to do it a bit differently."

 

~~~

 

The troops had seemed relieved when I warped in front of them inside of that tunnel, though they seemed a bit confused to see Eren at my side. At first his presence had brought unease, ignorant to who the cloaked figure at my side was. But when I addressed them and told them the change of plans, the mention of Eren's name and a glance at him settled the distrustful gazes of my men. The Vampire King had to fight, after all, why shouldn't his mate do the same?

Besides the original murmur of unease, the troops seemed relieved to hear of my revisions to the plan. They knew just as well as I had how the previous one would've ended in ruin, but it was not their place to speak out. Now we were lying in wait, the sun beginning to set and the remaining crimson glow silhouetting what we could see of the town. Any moment now they would begin to wake up, and at that moment was when the deciding battle would begin.

I had brought a small troop of vampiric guards with me, and we now crouched low by the entrance of the mine leading towards Tueur's base. We had decided against using radio or cell phones to communicate with the day guards, instead choosing to have a few of us waiting by the entrance and avoiding the dying sun's rays to watch the scene play out. As always King was expected to be at the front lines, but I would've been there anyway to keep my eyes set on my chosen mate and ensure that no harm came to him.

I had made it clear to him that under no circumstance did he have to do this, but with his conscience still heavy from giving me more shit to deal with than I already had by getting himself kidnapped and bitten he had been quick to say that he wanted to help. I had sighed and flicked Erwin off for looking so smug, and Eren had done his best to soothe the unease I knew had slipped into my expression by sending me a small smile. 

It had taken a shitload of time before we were ready, though I admitted to it partially being my fault as I made sure Eren would be at least mostly safe from the Sun. He stood now at the head of the large troop of humans heading towards Tueur's base, hood drawn low over his face. There was no need for him to show his face to the enemy for them to know who he was, for even though the smell of his blood wasn't as prominent as it had been it was still one to pick out in a crowd. Besides that, as I had been informed by Shitty Glasses, the blood he had taken from me altered his scent just enough that he smelled like me as well, and I doubted Tueur would just leave such a scent alone.

As I watched the large troop of humans stopped, standing perfectly still about fifty meters away from the edge of the town. I felt my lips tug downwards with something akin to worry as I watched Eren fidget, tugging at his hood with a hand safely confined in the sleeve of his cloak though the Sun's light was already much weaker than it was. After another long moment of watching the silence came the first curious vampire, that or hungry and drawn to the sudden overpowering smell of human. He was tall, with dark hair and the scraggly beginnings of a beard. Young, perhaps, but caution bled through his motions as he kept his muscles stiff and his eyes fixed on Eren.

At the first step he took towards the group came a second vampire, and soon a third and a fourth, members of Tueur soon filling in the gaps between people in an effort to find out what the hell was happening. They were, after all, a group that wished all of humanity dead, and here was a good chunk of its capable fighters showing up on their doorstep. Still no one moved, however, and it became apparent that Tueur was waiting for someone.

Their leader.

There he was, the only one with enough brains to look past the human troops and scan the horizon. His gaze lingered in our direction for a moment before carrying on and eventually dropping back to Eren, who seemed to be carrying the weight of most everyone's stares. The Sun had set almost completely now, and I was able to watch the scene a bit closer instead of cowering behind the doorframe and barely peeking my head out.

I waited a moment more before beginning my mental countdown, signaling to Erwin who stood just behind me as I reached 25. Five more seconds and I stepped just a bit outside the entrance to the mine shaft, the blond shithead already having warped out of my sight to carry out his side of the plan. 16, 15, There. Just barely I could make out the commander behind the large group of vampires, hood pulled over his face and barely breathing in order to slow his heart and make himself less noticeable.

I reached ten, took another step outside the mine, and moved my gaze back to Eren. He slowly, slowly, reached both hands up to drop his hood, flinching just slightly in anticipation for pain but relaxing slightly when there was no burning sensation courtesy of the Sun. Tueur's leader was looking at the brat now, too, no one's gaze moving from the Vampire King's chosen mate as he reached into his cloak to withdraw a scroll of paper. No one's gaze moving to catch the rest of humanity's army pull out their guns and take aim.

"We... We come on order of His Majesty Levi Ackerman, as well as the Council that governs-" His voice was shaking, and on instinct I took a small step forward, subconsciously trying to get closer to him, to make sure that he was okay, and then...

The winds changed.

I was at two when his head turned to lock eyes with me, only two more seconds before our attack was launched, and it was too long to wait. Only the leader of Tueur had seen me in just enough time to know that something was up, only he had been able to warp out of the way just as humanity's army began firing and everyone else was left with a bullet in them.

Some of them smirked, others outright laughed. Trying to kill a vampire with bullets? They weren't even aimed at the heart or head, anywhere doing fine so long as the bullet stayed inside the vampire's body. No one bothered to remove the bullet, deciding instead not to wast precious time, and at the same time I hit zero and threw a hand up into the air and barked out the order to attack Tueur rushed forward upon the humans, upon Eren.

I warped directly in front of my chosen mate, driving a wooden stake through the heart of the vampire that was already so close, so fucking close to hurting Eren. There was no pause as I rounded on another one, wrenching the weapon used to kill the first vampire out of his already flaking body as I drove a second one into my current opponent. 

We were all fighting this way, a wooden stake in each hand and the guns the humans had emptied into Tueur laying forgotten on the ground. Erwin's job, which would have been to kill the leader as the battle began or to at least distract them long enough for us to gain the upper hand, was useless now, and out of the corner of my eye I saw him warp into being nearby to shove one of his stakes through someone's throat and the other through their heart before warping out and leaving the now dead vampire crumpled to the ground.

This was our advantage now, though only the vampires were allowed it: warping out of danger as Tueur raised their own weapons only to come back into existence behind them and take them out, Tueur unable to warp and unable to avoid our strikes. Eren had dropped to the ground soon after this began, and I stayed in constant motion to warp in and out of existence to keep a small clearing of safety around him by killing those that got nearest to him.

The battlefield had already grown filthy with blood and death, and I clicked my tongue with disgust when I caught a member of Tueur with their fangs sunk deep into one of my day guards, the human in question limp and eyes glazed over. It wasn't just me losing men, however, and though their bodies didn't linger very long it was clear who was winning. Clear enough that I drove my wooden stakes through two last members of the shitty rebellion before warping practically on top of Eren and warping him away from the mess, letting him fall backwards onto the ground of the mineshaft as I stood and tightened my grip on my weapons as I got ready to warp back to the battlefield.

The battlefield would have to wait.

I froze when I heard the unmistakable sound of a gun's safety being flipped, but there was nothing I could do to prevent the bullet that was sent through the air in the second after. I heard Eren's scream before I saw the wound, blood pouring from a small hole in the center of his forehead. He had been trying to sit up, to look at me, and now the shitty brat had his brains blown out by-

"How predictable." My eyes snapped up to meet his as I dropped to my knees by Eren, the leader of Tueur standing over us both and wearing an expression far too smug for my liking. "I had been hoping, Your Highness, that you'd have been a bit more fun, but you brought your little pet here even sooner than I had imagined."

"You piece of shit..." My eyes burned as I stood up, my weapons having fallen from my grasp but not really mattering anymore right now anyway. I had killed many this way, too, ripping their hearts out with my bare hands or tearing their throat out with my fangs. Anything would do, anything at all, but still we stayed in a deadlock as we our gazes never faltered. I clenched my hands at my sides, legs bending slightly at the knees and muscles tense as I prepared to spring.

He moved first, disappearing from my sight and barley managing to graze me with the silver knife he had produced as I whirled and warped to a few feet behind me at the same time. This was how most battles between vampires went, both warping and warping and warping some more as they both struggled to find a single opening in which they could hit their opponent before they disappeared.

"Are you really so weak, Your Majesty?" I growled, turning once more and lunging at the taller man but only managing to snap my fangs together in thin air. "Has the loss of your chosen mate clouded your mind so totally?"

I felt my breathing hitch, felt my eyes widen. I faltered, and the leader of Tueur made his move. I was slammed into the ground with a knife searing through my shoulder, digging around as I gasped and struggled to separate reality from the pain and the words still cycling through my head. The loss of my chosen mate... No, no, no, fuck it all, not Eren...

The knife was yanked from my shoulder to be replaced with something small and metal and somehow incredibly heavy, and I slammed the hand attached to my good arm and shoulder into my mouth to muffle my cry of pain.

"I'm sure you know what this is, Your Highness. You made them, after all, these clever little bullets. We should've paid more attention when you moved so many of your men to the mines." Of course, of fucking course it was one of our bullets, and in a desperate but fruitless attempt to remove the damn thing I thrashed about and ended up causing myself only more agony.

"You... Bastard-" my mouth was snapped shut as it was slammed to the ground as I spoke, my eyes squeezing shut on impulse and an effort to hide myself from the pain.

"No, Your Highness, you're the one who's been screwing with our lives, letting us live like some sort of fucking cattle inside these mountains. You're the one who's wrong here, and you're the one who's about to die, and nothi-"

I winced as his weight dropped on top of me, heavy and confusing and- that was one of my wooden stakes digging into my back. I forced open my eyes as the weight on my back vanished, and I coughed into my hand as I struggled to sit up. I grimaced at the blood that made its way out of my throat, but my attention was quick to focus on my attacker, who was now struggling to stand up on my right.

"You..." Eren. Eren, Eren, that fucking idiot, that wonderful fucking idiot stood over me, both hands wrapped right around one of my weapons and eyes wide with terror and pain and determination. "You're not human, are you? I never expected His Highness to bite so soon-"

"He didn't." I flinched at the brunet's voice, quiet but firm and deadly and so unlike what I was used to. "It was one of your orders, wasn't it? To kidnap me and bite me... Doesn't matter now. You're right, I'm not human, and I'm alive because of it. Fuck off."

I almost smiled, but then Eren was rushing our opponent with the wooden stake held in front of him and arms shaking almost imperceptibly. I felt my face contort into a grimace as I struggled to turn slightly and pick out the bullet from my wound, warping behind Tueur's leader and putting the last of my strength into pushing him forward onto the weapon Eren held and startling him enough to keep him from warping. Before Eren had missed the heart, but I knew without checking for a pulse of waiting for our attacker to begin turning to dust that my chosen mate hadn't missed this time. We had won, we had won this godforsaken war, but...

"Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my- I just killed someone. I just- I just killed him. I killed a man. I killed-" I winced as Eren collapsed onto me, though I had been expecting it as I had warped to stand just in front of him so that I could keep him standing when he would undoubtably collapse to the ground. 

He hung limp over me as he murmured horrified truths, and for a long moment I said nothing. For a long moment, there was nothing to say. What he said was true- he had killed someone, and until he said something false I wouldn't contradict him. I had been this way the first time I killed someone, too, though it was so many years ago that I couldn't remember the pain I felt when I told myself that I was a monster. It had really hurt, hadn't it...? I sighed, moving one of my hands just slightly to rub circles into the brunet's back as he whimpered and shook against me.

"Oi, brat." He sniffled, and after a moment I continued. "Thank you. You saved my life. And really the lives of a whole hell of a lot more people, as well. It's okay... It's okay... It's going to be okay, Eren. It's going to be okay."


	21. Chapter 21

Eren's POV

 

Levi stayed with me for a long time before he told me that he had to return to the battle we had been fighting, and though I understood why he had to go and I had nodded and told him that I'd be fine, I was terrified of what could happen to me without him nearby. And if I was really honest with myself, beneath my own excruciating pain and fragile balance of sanity from my recent contribution to the war I was even more scared for the Vampire King fighting with his current injuries, though before leaving he had caught my flickering glances to his shoulder and he had tugged at his shirt so that I could see that it was already mostly healed.

"The longer you live as a vampire the more accustomed your brain becomes to how your body functions, and it'll be able to send messages to your heart to release more of the enzyme that turned us in the first place, which will speed up all healing processes." I had blinked, not caring that I must've looked lost, and Levi sighed. "I was just trying to explain that... Even though this healed, yours..."

"Oh." With that word a spear of pain split through my head where the bullet wound was, and as I flinched Levi ran a hand through my hair lightly.

"I'm not going to leave you here. Do you think you'll be okay if I warp you back to the castle? Hanji may be a shitty scientist, but she's a decent doctor..." I sighed, shrugging. "Sorry, kid, I know you hate warping..."

"Fine." I snapped my mouth shut before I could continue, not wanting to give Levi any other reasons to worry for me and definitely not wanting any more sharp jabs of pain. The shorter vampire gave me an odd look before clicking his tongue, removing the fingers I hadn't been aware were still resting in my hair.

"...I'll leave you to that shitty four-eyes, then." I flinched as he rested a few fingers on my shoulder before immediately warping us out of the mineshaft, and I let out a yelp before pitching over and doing my best not to start retching on what I now recognized as the floor to the great hall. "Tch. Do you have to get nauseous every fucking time I have to take you somewhere? How the hell do you plan on warping yourself if I'm not around to do it for you?"

"Nnn..." I squeezed my eyes shut as he ran a hand over his face, currently very annoyed with his constant jabs and not wanting to deal with any level of annoyance caused by a human- or vampire. All I really wanted was for the pain to go away, for the pain to go away and for the ability to give back the life I had taken. God, how could I live with myself, how the hell was I still living, why was I such a monster, why was I-

"Eren." I flinched at his voice, hiding behind my hands as I curled up where I sat and fully aware that I was beginning to regress back into the previous state of anxiety and pure panic that had taken Levi so long to coax me out of earlier.

I was surprised when I once more felt him pull me into a hesitant embrace, identical to the way he had held me earlier save for now I wasn't half in his lap. One of his hands drifted up to play with the ends of my hair, and I shuddered at the ghost-like feeling it gave me. Slowly I began to steady my breathing, though I remained hidden behind my hands.

"You have to stay calm. Don't let any of this shit get to you, at least not yet. I have to go, so not yet. When I'm back feel free to have all the panic attacks you feel like, but not until then, okay?" I said nothing, did nothing, and he sighed as he tightened his grip on me slightly and froze the hand that had been drifting through my hair. "Promise me, Eren."

Why was he so nice to me? He was so mean just a moment before, so irritated with me, with the war, and now... His voice was so quiet, quiet like it had been when he comforted me before. It was so hard to stay upset when he spoke like that, and after a long moment I gave in and took a breath before finally speaking up.

"I promise..." He tightened his grip once more, taking a short breath as if about to say something, but after a long quiet moment he closed his mouth and then he was stepping away from me, warped back to the battlefield by the time I opened my eyes.

I sighed, somehow disappointed, though I tried to tell myself that it was stupid of me to feel disappointed in the middle of my period of self-loathing. I started when I heard someone clear their throat, too wrapped up in my own thoughts to register the feet that were now included in my view of the floor. I looked up without moving my head, preferring to strain my eyes than cause another sharp jolt of pain from moving my head, and met the gaze of Hanji, who was grinning like a complete idiot. How she could look so thrilled with her friend's chosen mate sitting in front of her in obvious pain with a bullet imbedded in their brain during the middle of a fucking war I had no clue, but she seemed to have no such qualms.

"He spoils you rotten! Honestly, I'm a bit jealous- I'm not even sure he's ever used my name unless someone was about to die. Er, scratch that, I don't think he's ever used my name save for when you've been missing or injured." I blinked, surprised, and the brunet standing over me cackled. "You haven't noticed? It's like that little demon is walking on eggshells around you half the time, though not in the way of being afraid of you. More like... He's scared you'll be scared of him. Does that make sense? Yes? No? Eh, oh well, I'd best just patch you up- speaking of said Ravioli, he'd have my head if he found out I didn't do so right away."

She turned on her heel and walked over to what seemed to be a central table with lots of different supplies laid out over it, and though I was irritated that she had babbled on while I was, once more, in obvious pain, I took the moment to get my bearings before I could get any more confused about what she had told me. As far as I could tell, at least, Levi was anything but careful around me.

The grandiose entrance hall was filled with hospital beds and cots in equal measure, though there was an IV pole by each setup. Several tables had been pushed together for the central table Hanji had gone through to fetch supplies, and several other vampires working as nurses and doctors were sorting through the disinfectants and pain medicines and large amounts of what looked like pints of blood as well. I myself was on a hospital bed, and while I was thankful for the obviously more comfortable place to rest than others had I began to become highly suspicious that Levi was able to warp with much greater accuracy than I ever imagined- I hadn't moved since he had brought me here, and there was no way that the bastard hadn't had a hand in the way that I came into being sitting on the edge of an empty hospital bed while he remained standing in front of me. 

I could just barely see into an adjoined large dinning room, which seemed to be set up in the same way that this one was, though I figured that Levi brought me to this one because he knew Hanji would make treating me a priority. Speaking of the devil, I watched as she began weaving through the uneven rows to get back to me, tensing at the sight of a few needles I caught sight of in one of her hands.

"O-kay! First thing's first: I don't see an exit point in the back of your head, so I have to remove the bullet. I would suggest biting down on something, especially because as a newly-turned you won't have much of a resistance to pain." I felt my eyes widen, now without a doubt ten times more terrified than I had been, but just as I opened my mouth to protest the erratic scientist dug a long pair of thin tweezers into the wound in my forehead, and my protests were quickly replaced with unrestrained screams. 

It hurt so badly, it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it-

"Done!" I bit off my scream in time to hear the bullet hit the ground, and as my eyes instinctively moved to the source of the sound I numbly wondered if it too had been covered in something like ours had been. Poison? A transmitter that sent out signals that drove doctors to send their charges through incredible pain? 

"That motherfucking hurt Jesus fucking Christ why the fucking hell did this have to happen to me goddamn it-"

"Hah! There's the reason Levi took such a shine to ya- you can keep up with his personal rules on how to insert 'fuck' after every single word. Case closed, end of story, that was definitely it." I sent her a glare as I continued mumbling profanities under my breath, trying to silently tell her to hurry the fuck up and give me something for he pain.

She seemed to get the point quickly and was soon shoving a few pills down my throat and hooking me up to an IV, though I watched her warily as she continued to prepare more things to be done. She wrapped up my wound in a bandage next, babbling on about how lucky I was I hadn't lost too much blood and reassuring me that it would heal within a day or two. I went rigid when she began to swab at the inside of my arm in preparation for what I guessed to be having my blood drawn, not all too fond of the activity.

"Alright, so I need this sample because we haven't had a chance to get your blood type yet, and you've lost enough blood that you'll pass out soon if you don't get something down." I looked at her as sharply as I could while still being terrified of the needle that had just stabbed me, already beginning to feel nauseous from the idea of feeding again.

She didn't need to draw much blood before she removed the needle and put a small bandaid over the wound, holding up a small vial half full of my blood for me to see before giving me a thumbs up and warping out of my sight. She was back within the minute, looking slightly amused.

"Type AB-. Of course you'd be AB-, of course..." I blinked twice before frowning, and the doctor rolling her eyes at me paused to explain. "Least common blood type- which I guess could explain why you smelled so strongly, though mostly I'm thinking about how much of a pain in the petunia it'll be making sure you feed as often as you need to..."

She had made her way back to the main table before I could find an excuse not to feed again, and after a minute or two spent fidgeting uncomfortably she came back with a blood bag looking triumphant. Her smile only widened when she saw my expression, though it now had a more scary tone now.

"Ohh, that's right- you don't want to feed. Levi got you to keep some down earlier though, what'd he do to convince you to do that? Did he say please? Oh, great aunt Maria I hope he said please!" I jerked back from the face suddenly inches from mine, shaking my head as I stared in terror at her now foggy glasses. "Aww... Too bad... Oh well, no reason for me to have to convince you of anything, I'm just hooking you up to it so this is really something that happens to badly injured humans as well. This way you can sleep while you heal, got it?"

I sighed, deciding that it would be better not to think about it and instead leaning slowly backwards into my pillows without another word. I was so scared, scared of my situation, of myself, of what could happen to Levi, scared of being scared, and there was nothing I could do. I couldn't do anything about the fangs pressing against my lips or the blood I was being hooked up to or Levi's absence, either, so I just had to let it go and relax, relax so that I can sleep and hide in the darkness until Levi came back for me. I heard only one more thing before I was able to do just that, though I didn't quite process it since my mind was heavy and blissfully numb.

"You know, I think you spoil him, too..."


	22. Chapter 22

Levi's POV

 

As much as I wished I could stay by Eren's side, I felt almost relieved when I warped back into the mineshaft and was once more wrapped up in the smells and sights and sounds of war. I never claimed to be anything other than the monster Eren labeled our race as, and through my unusually long time as king I had proven my comfort and prowess with a weapon. I wouldn't kill unnecessarily, but when it came down to ridding the world of scum that would do far more damage than I ever could I wouldn't hesitate to make my move.

I took a few steps forward to stand above the site where Tueur's leader had fallen by Eren's hand, bending down to collect the silver sword and a handful of the ash surrounding it. I warped back to the battlefield without another moment's hesitation, knowing I had already spent far too much time watching over and comforting my chosen mate when I should've been here, leading our troops to victory. In the time I had been gone we had lost our edge, and now it seemed that we were fighting tooth and nail just to hold our ground.

I was noticed immediately by several members of Tueur but paid them no mind; I kept my attention focused on trying to find a decent place to announce our victory as I absentmindedly swung the stolen sword to lop off the head of one and warping mid-swing so that I was able to behead the second vampire with the same momentum. There: a two-story building on the outskirts of town, perhaps only twenty meters from where some of our men were fighting. 

I warped to the roof of the building without acknowledging the other members of Tueur that had been coming at me, intent on discovering the extent of our losses. We had done worse than I had originally thought- it was clear Tueur was taking the lead to victory. The vampire dust from hundreds of fallen warriors turned the sky grey, lighter than but a clear reminder of the blackened skies we fought under during the Blood Wars. Human bodies were piling up and restricting movement of their comrades, and I clicked my tongue with annoyance as I remembered the mess behind my resentment towards fighting with humans.

Their bodies stayed on the field, blood staining more than just the hands of their killers, not letting you forget just how many you had killed. Afterwards people would yell at the heavens for yanking them from friends and loved ones, grasping desperately at the hands of the deceased and closing eyes that were unsettling when glazed over. I never quite understood why they cried, because really life would be nothing without death- ever since being born we were slowly dying, hours and minutes ticking by until our time had come, and that would be when we reached the final destination and goal of life.

Of course, there were things to do before then. Make a mark on the world, ensure that your temporary survival had not been pointless, perhaps find happiness. Maybe this was why they cried, why they protested those they knew from being taken away from them, scared of being shown that some people don't get to accomplish what they wanted to in life.

I never 'lived,' was born a creature of darkness who never once saw even a sunrise until that shitty brat back at my castle came along. He was right, my perception of what constituted happiness was different than that of others, but was it wrong? Was it wrong to believe that I couldn't live happily while I lurked in shadows and killed and was called a monster, was it wrong to believe that I couldn't find happiness on my own? All my life I had thought that if only there was someone by my side, if only I had someone to bring me light and warmth and speak to me without the intention of harming me, if only I could live like that then I could be happy. 

For humans, living like that, living with people they cared about and wishing happiness upon them was normal. Human instinct was to communicate with others, an instinct vampires born into their fangs lacked. We preferred silence to sound, preferred darkness to light, and one of our few customs was that we would be abandoned by our parents on our fifth birthday and those that lived long enough to mature were those that would be respected, though reunions with parents weren't common. I was king now because I not only survived but I thrived in the filthy dirt-poor neighborhoods surrounding the one I had been left in, survived even as the only two people that had given me glimpses at happiness would look like, what life with other people would look like, had been killed.

Perhaps we did have some mutated form of the human instinct to communicate, because wasn't war just another way of doing just that? Wasn't killing a way to communicate to others, though perhaps it was only the communication of desires and ability more so than that of words that allowed you to say anything you pleased. We were so different from humans, so painfully different, but I wouldn't give up on my hope for happiness before my life expired. Eren may call me an idiot all he pleased, but my idea on what happiness was would not change. If I had someone to care about that also cared about me, I could be happy. This was so usual for humans, though, so overlooked, and so when I expressed my desires for what they have I refer to it as my wish to live 'normally'. 

Eren was my chance at living normally, and his turning didn't change that. His heart and mind were much closer to a human's than mine ever would be, and he managed to hold onto the ability to find happiness easily. He would be my chance to live how I pleased before I died, so I had to win this war. Win this war and live peacefully with someone by my side, win this war and live normally, win this war and live happily. I could do it, and once more it was Eren's doing. I raised my voice over the wind that played with my hair, announcing to the darkened heavens our victory. 

"Oi, Tueur!" Glances my way, a deft movement on my part to kill the vampire that had warped behind me in an effor to take my crown. "You've lost! Your king is dead!" 

There were those who looked, sure, but those that paid attention were those that ignored the battle around them and were those that died. I scowled as I warped back to my castle, to a storage room in the sprawling basement. Here were the leftover floodlights from the unpleasant time we were forced to keep our castle lit up to guide others to us, and I did my best to grab a couple extension cords and lean against one of the large lights without letting go of the handful of vampire dust I still held.

It didn't take long to warp back to my perch and set up the flood light, and after grimacing and stepping back slightly I turned it on and efficiently froze the battle as humans blinked in surprise and vampires screeched and fell to their knees as they clawed at their eyes. Those that attempted to continue fighting soon gave up, and after a moment more I turned the light off and stepped onto the edge of the rooftop, raising the fist holding the remains of Tueur's leader and lifting my voice above the wind once more.

"The leader of Tueur has been slain!" I released the ash that had been captured in my hand, watching the vampires beneath me craning their necks to identify the scent on the vampire dust and confirm my words. "Tueur has been defeated!"

As murmurs went through the cloud I became aware of a couple presences behind me, one of which I was expecting and waited calmly as he killed the other. Erwin came up behind me and flicked his gaze over the scene before asking me for orders, but I simply snorted and told him to lead his own damn army. I was a decent leader when it came to the bloody parts of wars, but encouragement, coming up with plans, even the way Erwin worded simple things was why he was the commander of my armies. The blond shitbag sighed and stepped forward, standing beside me on the edge of the building.

"You cannot fight without a leader! We will show mercy towards those that surrender, but to those of you who refuse to put down your swords we have no intention of doing so either! Choose- life! Or death!" His voice was still ringing through the landscape when the sounds of war picked up once more, but we had our lead back and then some: at least a third of Tueur's army had run away, the cowards that hadn't figured out how to warp during this battle. The ones that came after me on this rooftop, the ones that continued to fight down below, it was obvious that most of them had removed the bullets we had shot them with, but they wouldn't last long.

"How's Eren?" Erwin and I turned, facing more vampires that were under the impression that they could kill us. "I assume you were with him in your absence from the battlefield."

"He killed him." The look of surprise on the commander's face was replaced with confusion, and I sighed as I spun from the vampire I had torn a gash through his heart, slicing off another's arm as it made to strike at Erwin, who promptly finished him off. "Eren killed the leader of Tueur, but if you spread this I will shove my boot so far up your ass you'll feel it next century."

"Understood. Is Eren back at the castle now?" I watched blankly as the last vampire on the roof with us was separated from his head, eyes tracking the body-less head as it fell from the rooftop and disintegrated into dust before it hit the ground.

"Yes. That shitty four-eyes has him." Erwin raised an eyebrow, and I clicked my tongue and turned my head away slightly before replying to the unspoken question. "He was shot in the head. Once this is done with, I plan on killing you slowly for breaking your promise of Eren's safety."

The battle didn't last much longer after that, as I knew it wouldn't. We now had the advantage in numbers with those from Tueur that surrendered, and without a leader the will of every warrior is bound to break, leading to sloppy mistakes and death. I was ready to warp back to Eren's side the second it was over, but the murmurs shared between the members of Humanity's army gave me pause. Eventually the leader of the wary group stepped forward, fury shadowing the cautious suspicion in his eyes as he approached me.

"Where were you, Your Highness?" I scowled, though I knew this was coming. "You left your troops, left your kingdom in the middle of a battle!"

"We won, what the fuck is wrong with you not being able to find me for a bit?" The taller man I was facing narrowed his eyes, but I kept my face blank.

"Do you have any idea just how many we lost? How many humanity sacrificed because you told us that you could win this? Maybe our lives don't matter to you monsters, but with that attitude you'll never change." I took a deep breath, trying to suppress the anger I felt bubbling up in the back of my throat.

"My chosen mate was shot in the head. Anyone, even a monster, would stop to take care of that, so there's no surprise that I paused to get him somewhere safe-"

"You let the life of a single person take priority over those of thousands? Unbelievable- this is the truth behind your race, cruel and cold and not possessing a conscience. I pity the poor humans that get chosen by you bastards, forced to live in the darkness like this- how the hell were we ever convince it was an honor-"

"Shut the fuck up." I took a step forward, swinging the sword that had been hanging limply at my side to rest steadily at the throat of the bastard in front of me. "There was no deceiving on our part, you fucking asshole. This battle, your losses- they're nothing compared to what we lost during the Blood Wars, nothing! And then you corral us into the mountains, a cage easily escaped with our abilities, true, but it's the meaning behind it. Most of my kingdom will never see your side of the mountain in their entire lives, bound by your will and cruel words and the infectious idea that we're worthless. And then you have the fucking nerve to ask us for help, to send you what little we have because you're incapable, because you can't live without us there, and you-"

"Levi." I was shaking, my eyes wild and my breathing erratic, but I managed to shut myself up. I took deep shuddering breaths and focused on Erwin's grip on my arm, on the warning tone in his voice, but the damage had been done.

"My apologies. Send humanity my most sincere thanks for your help in this war." The words were spoken between gritted teeth, and before anyone could say anything else I tore myself away from Erwin and warped back to the castle, taking a deep breath as I looked down at Eren. He was sleeping peacefully, unaware of the hell around him, and for a moment I felt safe just watching him.

I would regret my actions later, but for now... For now, everything was okay.


	23. Chapter 23

Eren's POV

 

I had another nightmare. Running from monsters and from wars, running from darkness and the color red, only to turn and face my reflection to find out that I was the same. And while I was still half-asleep, drifting in that grey area of awareness that makes you question whether your eyes are opened or closed, there was nothing I could do to steady my suddenly erratic breathing. Because I was that monster, and for the first time I could remember I was able to recall every part of my dream with terrifying vividness.

There was no leftover feeling of emptiness, no shadow of what had haunted me, not even the momentary loneliness I had grown so accustomed to. There were only the breaths I took on the verge of hyperventilating, only the thundering beat of my dead heart, only the gnawing hunger even though I was supposed to be being fed from a tube, only the throbbing pain in my head. Only the all too real scenes flashing through my mind, only the regret that the first time I could remember my dreams they had been too true to hide from. Only the annoying pricks in my mouth where my fangs dug into my lip, only the reality of not being human.

"Eren." My eyes snapped open, staring straight above me towards the ceiling as neither the pain nor my quick breaths changed as my world was filled with the dim light around me. "Eren, calm down..."

I could see Levi now, leaning into my vision and looking concerned. I shut my eyes again, pretending that I didn't know the Vampire King had seen me like this, pretending that he didn't know of my childish almost-fears of sleep. I flinched when slim fingers brushed against the bandage around my head, and after a moment I heard the older vampire sigh.

"Come on, kid... It'll be okay, I've told you it'll be okay..." My fingers curled around the sheets, and I felt the beginnings of tears at the corners of my eyes. He had told me, again and again, he had told me and comforted me and promised that things would get better. And yet I remained stubborn, I remained afraid, and never did I hesitate to call myself a monster, to call him a monster.

"I'm sorry...I really am, I'm so sorry, Levi, please don't hate me... I've been so mean and afraid and weak and I'm still so-" I broke off, taking a large gasp of air that was released as a sob as I threw the arm without a needle in it over my eyes to hide them. Why did this have to happen so often? When had I become so weak? Hadn't Levi chosen me because he thought my willpower was strong? Wasn't my nickname the Suicidal Bastard, earned from times I had run into traffic to shoo a dog or cat away or times when I had boasted that I could skateboard off the roof of Connie's house and I hadn't hesitated to prove it? Where had that confidence gone? Now...

Now I was reduced to this, sniveling and complaining and unable to keep up with the taxation a of being the Vampire King's chosen mate. It seemed like every time I saw him he had to repeat himself, had to say once more that it was okay and that things would get better. Never once had I heard him complain about it, even when he called me a shitty brat incapable of functioning in the most simple ways over everything else. Times like these he barely cursed, never complained, never protested as he volunteered himself once more to play therapist.

And yet, even as I realized how cruel I had been to him, my tears didn't stop. My heart didn't stop aching from the thought of being a monster, and I didn't stop thinking of the entity of vampires was that of monsters, Levi included. That fact only made me cry harder, and I let out another loud sob as the pain in my head increased again.

"Shh.... Oi, come on... It'll be okay, you don't have to cry... If you cry, the pain will only get worse..." I knew that, I knew that, but... "Eren. Look at me."

"N-no... I can't... I ca-hic!-can't..." Cold fingers traced my jaw up to my cheek, pausing to brush away a fallen tear before continuing up slightly to brush against the arm that I was hiding behind. "Don't! I can't, I can't l-look at y-you right now-"

"Eren." I fell silent, trying to suppress another sob as Levi slowly removed my arm from in front of my eyes. After a long moment of silence I dared to open my eyes half-way, and as I took in the soft look on the Vampire King's face I gave up and used the arm still in his light grip to jerk him down closer to me so that I could wrap my arm around him, ignoring his grunt of surprise as I searched desperately for some form of comfort in the steady presence of another.

"I'm so scared of myself..." The smaller vampire sighed and relaxed, moving so that he had joined me completely on the bed and seemed to make himself comfortable in the crook of my arm before responding.

"I know." Was this it? Was this why he let me fall apart again and again without complaining? 

"I feel so stupid, but I can stop brea-hic!-breaking down..." Why was his understanding enough to let me get away with it? Why?

"I know." How did he understand? How could he understand when he had never been through this, never been in my position?

"I'm sorry, so sorry, so sorry Levi... I still think we're monsters..." How could he let me get away with that? It wasn't fair...

"I know." Don't keep saying that, don't, it's making me feel better... "But it'll be okay."

"...Please shut up..." He did, but he stayed by my side until Hanji came back to check up on me, at which point he groaned and rolled over to hide his face in my shoulder and I flinched as I realized that my arm had fallen asleep during the time he had been resting on it, though the pins-and-needles feeling was something I could deal with a lot easier than the tears that had eventually dried up.

"Awe~ Look at you two!" I flushed red as she took out her phone to take a picture, but was unable to shake Levi off of me when I tried. "Oh, let him stay, Eren, he's probably exhausted from the war..."

"O-oh... Right..." I turned my head to study what little I could see of the Vampire King's face, realizing once more just how selfish I had been, how cruel. He had been fighting a war, hasn't he? He had been fighting a war to keep humanity safe... Part of me wanted to ask him how it had gone, but I was held back with the simple knowledge that he was here. If he was here than it must've been okay, and that was all I really needed to know, especially when he seemed as fed up with the world as he did now.

I sighed, tensing up slightly when I felt Hanji remove the needle in my other arm but relaxing soon after as she reassured me that the wound on my head was already looking better. At that news Levi stirred and dragged himself into a position vaguely resembling that of sitting up, studying the wound on my forehead while the scientist acting as doctor prepared a new bandage.

"It's not healing as fast as I'd hoped... Shit..." I felt my eyes widen, terrified of something being wrong with me, because if I was going to abandon my humanity, I had damn well be able to be something more than a nothing. If I couldn't heal, I wasn't a true vampire, and at that point... Had I given up everything for nothing? Had I given up everything to be useless, to be worth less than dirt, to be- "Oi! Eren! Calm down, calm down... You're hyperventilating again..."

"Again? Levi, if Eren's having problems like this you need to let me know! There have been cases in the past when turning results in an unraveling of sanity, we have to make sure Eren's-"

"Shut the fuck up!" I went rigid and against my will let out a small whimper as I tried to control the sounds leaking out of my mouth and the tears threatening to spill over once more, so scared, so scared, please make it all go away, all of it, just make it-

"Levi! Look! You terrified him!" Shut up shut up shut up don't make me look at him don't make me look at the guilt in his eyes and the regret and the pain and the hopelessness don't make me see-

"Shit... Eren, I'm sorry, I-"

"No!" The single word was high pitched and strained, a reflex as my breaths continued to become more and more erratic. Why had he responded so violently to Hanji, why had he seemed so desperate to deny what she said, why was Hanji looking at me as if I was a half-dead cat? Please make it all stop, all of it, all of it, let me go back to sleep...

"Eren, please..." I let out a cry of anger before trying to jerk away from him, trying desperately just to turn away from him, even if I had to face Hanji instead, but he kept me pinned and after thrashing around widely for a moment longer I finally let myself cry freely.

What if what Hanji had said was true? Was that why I felt so fragile, why nothing seemed to be okay, why I had to have Levi comfort me so often? It made so much sense, made me understand, and now I just wanted to be alone, to just get away from here, anywhere but here-

If all eyes weren't on me before, they were now as my screech rang through several rooms and halls, echoing and rattling and tearing up my throat as my eyes stayed wide and my body stayed twisted in pain. What had I done, what the hell had I done? I only wanted to get away, to be by myself to sleep and mull over the possibility of me losing my grip on reality, and now I couldn't feel my leg.

I could feel the pain, the pain right at my knee that surrounded the entire bit of flesh and muscle and bone that was there. It bit into me, tore into me, and all I could do was scream in agony and concentrate on the urgent words and the people surrounding me, everywhere, everywhere, everyone looking at me and not blinking and-

 

And then, once more, all was black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for ending it there- I promise Eren's not dead though. He accidentally warped from sheer will of wanting to be somewhere else and ended up leaving his leg behind   
> -_-'


	24. Chapter 24

Levi's POV

 

Eren lost consciousness almost immediately after accidentally warping us and losing his leg, the pain and blood loss too much for him to handle. I had tried to stand up right then to stop everything and get another five doctors over here to help me try to save his leg, but soon realized that the poor direction and lack of experience of the brunet had affected me, too, and my mind swam with the effort to stay aware of reality. Contact with another person while warping meant that they warped with you, so we were both now sprawled out on the floor a few feet away from the cot Eren had ben laying on. The idiot had accidentally warped himself out of pure willpower and desire to be somewhere else, but his leg...

His leg. That's why I needed to get up, get up you shitty legs, let me stand and call for help, let me- I let out a frustrated cry when I fell back to my knees, clutching at the fabric of Eren's shirt and fighting the way my throat was beginning to close up. Why now, why now when things finally looked hopeful? Why did that shitty glasses have to bring up the one thing I was trying to ignore, had to point out how fucking stupid it was of me not to tell someone earlier about Eren's fragile mentality? Why wouldn't she let me believe things would get better, that it would be okay?

I didn't need her fucking with my life when I could do it just as well by myself, worrying myself at times I needed to focus and wishing only to be at Eren's side when I had other things to do. I've been so goddamned scared of this, but if I just pretended that it was just because of the trauma of the past couple days... He was okay the other day, wasn't he? When we had joked and laughed and I had jumped into the bath with him, he'd been okay then... So why should I believe he wasn't now? Besides, anyone would be shaken after killing for the first time, right?

I wasn't.

I'm different, though. Don't think about yourself when you're not relevant, just try to sit up properly, try to keep your hands from gripping at your chosen mate too tightly as the doctors around you try to pry him from your fingers. They had to lay him back in bed, had to stitch his leg back into place so that it healed properly before it began healing without it, had to hook him back up so that he still had some blood left.

I didn't want to let him go, though, I didn't want to let him go when I could barely stand myself. Look at me, still making excuses... No, I could stand. But if I stood I had to face Hanji, had to hear her tell me that this confirmed it, and I wanted any thing but that, anything...

"Levi! Listen to me, you have to get up." There she was anyway, lowered to the ground and thankfully ignoring the look of terror I knew was plastered across my face. "They're doing the best they can with Eren, but even if he heals physically-"

"Shut up. Shut the fuck up, don't say it!" My eyes were blown wide as I dug my fingers into her shoulders, having turned slightly to face the shitty scientist. "If you don't say it, it's not real!"

"Oh, Levi... You went through so much, huh? His first rejection before he promised to stay with you, your fight before you banished him, him getting kidnapped and bitten, watching him get shot in the head... I know it's been building up, I know you just want things to be okay now, but..." I inhaled sharply, not wanting to hear the but. The but was never good, never... "But Levi, you have to know that right now, that kid's mental state is not where it should be. You chose him because you thought he had a strong willpower, and I agree that he did, so to know that now he cowers in fear so often just brings me back to my point: he's not doing well, Levi..."

"Please don't say it..." I winced at hearing my own voice, weak and wavering, and as Hanji's expression softened and she pulled me into a hug I became aware of the absence of Eren, and I sighed as I caught sight of a group of doctors working around a single hospital bed.

"I don't want it any more than you do, but if you haven't told me that he's been breaking down like this then you're obviously in denial, in which case I need to make sure you come to terms with what's happening- Eren's losing his sanity, and if it doesn't get better almost immediately then you might lose him altogether." I let out a strangled cry and beat weakly at Hanji's collar and chest as she kept a firm grip on me, preventing me from getting up to join Eren at his side.

"No! Fuck no, not after all this! I waited ten goddamned years, Hanji!" I felt her sigh, and I shuddered and slowly stopped struggling as I felt her fingers carding through my hair.

"Oh, honey... Come on... I don't want this any more than you do, he's a great kid, but he's been pushed too hard. Even for people who get through the biological changes into a vampire, everyone needs time to adjust mentally. That kid has had no time to do so, and for crying out loud he killed someone within the next few days after 'dying' himself!" I shook my head weakly against her chest, but my eyes were shut tight to avoid seeing the honesty in her expression. "Even if there was a chance it was just the trauma getting to him, what happened just now proves that his mental state has already begun to fall apart. I mean, don't cry, don't cry sweetie, but he just had such a fit that out of sheer desire to escape he warped not just himself but you, too."

"His leg... If he hadn't been warping me too, if he had just been moving himself through existence it would've been fine, if I had just given him distance none of this shit would've happened, it's my fault, my fault, fuck..." I shuddered again as the brunet holding me tightened her grip, my breath hitching with the effort to keep my eyes dry.

"Shh... Don't blame yourself, baby... It's not your fault, there wasn't anything you could've done to help him then..." Lies, all lies, why the hell was everything going down in flames, it's was all my fault... "Oh, come now, don't cry sweetie. You have to keep your head up, you're still the king... And you have to stay strong for Eren, too, because if you start to fall apart with him then there'll be no one to help him back to his feet."

"...Can he? Please tell me the truth, I don't know, as much as I fucking hate to admit it you know and I don't so please tell me..." The scientist sighed and I all but gave up hope when her fingers stilled in my hair, but when she spoke up once more her voice was steady and sure of herself.

"Yes. I promise, Levi, I promise he's not gone yet. He needs help, and if I hadn't found out for even another day it may have been too late, but he's not gone just yet. He needs you by his side every second of the way, though, because even I can tell you're the only one on this side of the mountains he truly trusts. Can you do that?" I nodded, eyes still shut tight as Hanji sighed once more. "Good. Now come on, Your Highness. I won't go spreading rumors myself, but you know what looking weak leads to as Vampire King."

I did know, so with only a mild buzzing leftover from being warped along with the kid causing all my worries right then I allowed Shitty Glasses to help me up, thankful she had stopped using pet names at last. That was one of the easiest ways to tell when things had gone so far to shit that even that four-eyes could tell- her habit of using pet names. If she stopped calling me honey or sweetie or whatever the fuck else, things would be okay. I would never admit it to her, but when it was important she really was a great friend, and I leaned far too heavily on her presence as a back up for it not to be embarrassing.

Now she was steering me away from Eren, taking me away and into the dinning hall before I could begin to break down again, and I collapsed into the nearest empty seat as she prepared us both a meal. The past few days had been trying for both of us, and I was sure she enjoyed the break and blood as much as I did, and I almost was able to start relaxing.

Almost.

"Your Highness!" I eyed the young soldier warily, already pissed off at being interrupted while feeding by some little shit who decided they had to warp into being right at my side. "Humanity's Council requires your presence!"

I scowled, not amused with the idea of going back to that room that bound my body from its one way of flight- warping. How the hell did they expect me to be ready to report victory now, anyway, when it was obvious there would be many more skirmishes before we could declare ourselves the winner over Tueur? Hanji shrugged when I raised an eyebrow in her direction, hoping that maybe the nosy scientist would know when Humanity's government had become so impatient, and I sighed before turning back to the solider still standing at attention and waiting for me to acknowledge his message.

"Fine. I swear, though, if this takes me more than an hour..." I didn't bother finishing my meal before warping into the outside chambers of Humanity's Council's hellhole of a room, letting the guards prod at me with the butts of their guns before shutting the doors to the chamber behind me to seal me inside, and immediately I felt the heavy weight of the inability to escape press down on me. I sighed, turning to begin reporting how the attack on Tueur's base had gone, but nothing made its way out my mouth before two solid clicks bound my wrists together.

"Your Highness Levi Ackerman, you're under arrest."


	25. Chapter 25

Eren's POV

 

I woke up alone again. Again, again, why was I always being left alone? It wasn't fair, I never did anything to deserve this, I never-

I killed someone. God, I did deserve this, I killed a monster and it didn't matter because I was a monster too and I deserved this, deserved the pain and hunger and loneliness and Levi not being by my side. I deserved to be yanked away from home and Mikasa and Armin and that horse-faced bastard that always put up the best fight, I deserved to wake up alone and cold and-

"Eren!" I snapped my eyes open, which was odd since I thought I had already opened them, and let loose an ear-piercing shriek when I found Hanji's face inches from mine. She jumped back and frowned, glancing around hurriedly as she patted my shoulder awkwardly with one hand and tried to muffle my screams with the other. "Hush... Hush... Quiet! Oh, how does Levi-"

I let out another scream with renewed vigor at the name, tears starting to prick at my eyes. Where was he? Where was he, shouldn't he be here? He always let me bother him with this, he always stayed, he always calmed me down. Where was he? Had he left me, too? Was he coming back? Had I annoyed him too much? Oh, fuck, I was such a worthless piece of shit, a monster, too stupid to-

"There!" I felt my thoughts immediately fall back from their crashing volume to a vague buzzing in the back of my mind, and I became aware of the pinch of a needle injecting something into my arm. I turned my head slightly to look at Hanji with wide eyes, and her triumphant smile quickly turned to anxious worry as she rushed to remove the needle and hold a cotton ball over the small wound until it had healed itself, cooing at me in a voice much to high to be comfortable. "See there, that's much better, no need to cry now! Smiles, yup! Smiles smiles smiles! No need to scream, no need to get away, nope! Just smiles and quiet, right? Yup! Oh, here, you must be hungry, right?"

"No!" She winced, rushing to hide the glass of blood behind her back and accidentally spilling some in the process. I let out a hopeless whimper and turned on my side so that my back was facing her, curling up into a ball and tugging the thin sheet up to my chin.

"Sorry, sorry, of course not!" Her voice dropped an octave, mumbles to herself about how hard it was to get that blood with my blood type and how she wished had Levi told her how to calm me down. "He was hiding this well, he had to have had some trick... Eren?" Her voice was sickeningly sick again, and I curled up tighter and placed my hands over my ears so that I didn't have to listen. She didn't try to move my hands, but I still heard her: "Does Levi do anything special when you're... Upset? Like this? Do you know if he does something specific that makes it better?"

"No!" There was an audible sigh, and slowly I removed my hands from over my ears. It didn't do much anyway- being a monster enhanced my senses. I could smell the blood on the floor and hear Hanji mumble about Levi keeping secrets and smell the scents of a hundred other monsters in the same room, feel their eyes on me, on me always-

"Of course, of course! Levi's just Levi, right? Well, let's see here... Okay honey, Levi's not here right now, but whatever he does I can do it too, so does he give you something? Take you somewhere?" Her voice dropped again, and this time the confusion and slight annoyance was heavy in her voice. "There has to be something, some way he kept this secret and kept this kid happy..."

There were too many mutterings, about Levi and secrets and me, and I just wanted to go back to sleep and hide from the pain and hunger and coldness, wasn't that okay? If I woke up alone, maybe this just wasn't the right time to wake up, I just had to wake up later, wake up later and then Levi would be there. He had to be, had to be... I was too tired of guessing what this secret was Hanji talked about, of almost thinking it was about my unstable mind like I had heard earlier before I banished the idea and told myself I was fine. Healthy, healthy as a monster could be...

"Where's Levi?" It was the only question I really wanted to know the answer to right now anyway, choosing the bliss of ignorance rather than understanding the fragile state of mind I was in. I mean, it was fine, I was fine, but I didn't know where Levi was, and that was a problem. "Where's Levi, Hanji?"

"Oh! Well, he had to go see Humanity's Council a little bit ago. They always want him to report on how major operations go when they send their own armies to help us, so he's just doing that. He'll be back soon!" I nodded to myself, taking a deep breath. It was so hard to keep my breathing steady, but if I didn't then something was wrong, and that thing Hanji said about insanity-

No.

I was fine, perfectly fine, so I concentrated on what it felt like when Levi let me hang myself over him and hide in the crook of his neck, focused on how calm his breathing was then. I was almost yanked from the fantasy when I heard Hanji let out a sigh of relief, but it was okay. I was okay, I was okay now. Just shaken from waking up alone, that's all that was. No one wants to wake up with a Hanji in their face anyway.

I still wanted Levi here. How was I supposed to hide without him here? How? I wanted to leave again, wanted to run away, but every time the thought crossed my mind my leg would ache and my head would pound, so I kept my thoughts away from anything but steady breathing and the hospital bed I laid on. Though...

Maybe, just maybe, it would be okay to think about them. About my friends and family, the humans I had tried and tried to forget about since becoming a monster and failed and failed to stop myself from missing. I had been missing them just now, hadn't I, when I had woken up alone? It wouldn't hurt to think of them now, to imagine what they would say if they saw me-

No, never mind. It would hurt, it did hurt. Don't think about them, don't think about what they'd say if they saw your fangs and watched you feed, don't think about what they'd call you after finding out you're a monster. Think of Levi, think of Levi because Levi was safe to think about, think of Levi because Levi is a monster like you, think of Levi because Levi accepts you. Levi would be back soon. Hanji had said so.

When Levi gets back, I'm going to ask him why he's never tried to kiss me.


	26. Chapter 26

Levi's POV

 

"What the fuck." I stared blankly down at my wrists where they had been bound together with handcuffs, and the way they weighed down on me I could tell they had been forged by the same metal the room was made out of to prevent me from warping. "Why the hell am I being arrested? I just won you a goddamned war!"

"Your Highness Levi Ackerman, I would advise you to use your right to remain silent before we add more charges to your already lengthy list." I looked up at Humanity's Council incredulously, my hatred for the group that dictated all life on this shitty planet from a long desk raised above my eye level increasing rapidly.

"And just what the hell are these charges, exactly? Helping too fucking much?" I felt a twinge of satisfaction when I caught the ringleader of the council trying to control his expression and failing to still a twitching eyebrow, proof that I wasn't being blown over completely.

"Among other things, treason. Now I would suggest that Your Highness-"

"Treason? Treason? Are you fucking kidding me? Maybe you didn't hear me, because I just won you a fucking war! Like hell I've done anything wrong! In fact, in my time as King I've held peace between our races better than any other before me! Who the hell decided what I've been doing is wrong?" The stiff masks the council had been wearing broke, and I hurried to lash out at them again, pleased that I had been able to crack the manufactured expressions they had been wearing. "And even if I did do something wrong, there's no fucking way you bastards have the right to fucking arrest me- I'm a goddamned King, and last I checked, there was no written rule that vampires were under your control. You shoved us into a cage centuries ago after destroying us in the Blood Wars, but there's no way in hell you have the right to push us around right now! You came crawling like the filth you are to us for help, and even today we support you, doing the jobs no one else is competent enough for! We work with you, help you, and this is how you treat us? Spit at us, order us, then try to arrest me for winning a war that we could've fucking avoided? The only victims of Tueur before we were asked to take an active role were human!"

"Lies!" I found myself struggling not to snap out another retort, a feral sound in the back of my throat barely contained as I glared at the Council. "You did nothing in the war against Tueur! It was your chosen mate who killed their leader!"

I felt my eyes go wide, shock erasing my fury. How the hell did they know that? I hadn't told anyone but Erwin, and I knew without question that Erwin wouldn't have told anyone else unless he had my explicit permission. How could Humanity's Council know who had really dealt the final blow, how could they know it was Eren?

"Your Highness should have been arrested the second we heard word of the reckless actions your chosen mate was taking in an attempt to lure Tueur out, yet we did nothing! Your Highness should've been arrested when you were unable to help Eren Yeager after he was bitten, yet we did nothing! You've been corrupting that boy since the day you chose him, and if you're unable to handle a single human, how can we expect you to rule your pitiful kingdom wisely? You'd eventually lead them to ruin, and you'd take Humanity down with you." The anger was back, burning and tearing through my throat to poison my words.

"Fuck you! You have no fucking clue what the hell Eren has been through, so you have no right to speak about him! I've done everything I possibly could for him! Everything! Arresting someone because their mate made a bad choice and ended up having to pay for it is fucking stupid, and so are you, you godforsaken pieces of shit!" My wrists were aching from pulling violently on their binds, trying desperately to create a way to strangle one of the assholes looking down at me with burning eyes.

"Your Highness Levi Ackerman, you're a fool. You are not here because of a mistake your chosen mate made, not here because we worried about your kingdom collapsing under your rule. You are here for the treason of abandoning both your kingdom and Humanity during the war with Tueur, destroying your chances of being let off with only a warning. You weren't even able to win the war, and had to let the boy you corrupted do it for you." I clenched my teeth and let out a breath that sounded comfortingly similar to an animalistic hiss, and as I watched Humanity's Council readjusted their expressions to once more wear their impassive masks. "Now, I would advise Your Highness to remain silent."

"I will not remain fucking silent, you bastards! Yeah, you're right, I did leave the battle field- to take care of the same boy you accuse me of corrupting! He was mortally wounded, and if I didn't take him back to my castle right then then he wouldn't have made it!" I was shocked into silence at the feeling of someone tugging at the chain on the handcuffs, one of Humanity's guards tugging me along with two of his buddies prodding me with their guns.

"What's done is done, Your Highness. Excuses will be of no help to you, though we are merciful enough to allow you the same rights as a human would have in our care. Your trial will be held a week from tomorrow, and I suggest that you take that time to reflect upon your mistakes." My shocked silence was forced into a stammering of protests, but Humanity's Council had shifted their gazes so that they burned right through me, and they paid me no mind. "Take His Highness down to the cell we had prepared. He'll be able to survive up to a month without feeding, so do not worry about finding a-"

"Wait!" My voice broke through the composed orders in a sharp cry of exasperation and almost-desperation, and finally I found their eyes focused on me once more, silent as they waited for me to spew more curses and insults. I grit my teeth, trying to control my anger from consuming me again, and surprised everyone, including myself, with the flat monotone of my voice. "I want my one phone call."

"Excuse me, Your Highness?" I closed my eyes, letting out a large breath of air through my nose.

"You said I'd have the same rights as a human. I want my fucking phone call, assholes." They exchanged looks, their expressions turning slightly confused and anxious. "I'll use whatever phone you give me. I need to let the commander of my armies know what's happening- he'll be my lawyer, not some shitty brat you bastards assign."

"If you think-"

"Shut up." The calm threat laced into the quiet words quieted the leader of the council, and I dragged a hand over my face. "You're a liar if you deny me this, and it only makes sense to contact the vampire designated to take charge in my absence. And besides that... I need to know how Eren is. I'll be unable to corrupt him from the other side of the phone, I just need to know he'll be okay for now. What you assholes don't know is that that kid needs help now more than ever, so I need to get him to his family. You have no right to refuse me this."

There was hesitation at first, but eventually I received permission from Humanity's Council to use a borrowed phone to make a five minute call. I wasn't sure if it would be enough to talk to Eyebrows about what his job would be a week from tomorrow, though I knew I would at least be able to speak with Eren. I really did worry about that kid, and I was fucking pissed I had to be pulled away from him when I had just conceded to get help where his sanity was concerned.

Please, Eren, please be okay...


	27. Chapter 27

Hanji's POV

 

I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or worried when Erwin warped into being next to me, face drawn together with anxious concern and one hand holding his cellphone to his ear, so I allowed both emotions to wash over me. While I knew whatever was happening on the other end of the phone couldn't be amazing, neither was my current situation: waiting less than patiently outside of the door to the bathroom in my room. I had figured it would be dangerous to take Eren back to his own room he had shared with Levi since the intruder who had found them had escaped, but I knew for a fact the Vampire King wouldn't want me keeping his chosen mate in with the rest of the wounded, so I had dragged him here, sending an apologetic look Moblit's way before kicking him out with the mission of collecting everything Eren would need.

I had thought things had been going alright, since I had avoided warping with Eren and we had just walked here, and he didn't seem to have any breakdowns on the way here, but just as I allowed myself to relax enough to begin chatting to him about the amazing bacteria I had found on some old cheese I had stuffed into the microwave he drew himself inwards, after a moment mumbling something about having to use the restroom before disappearing into the small bathroom Moblit and I shared. There was only the sound of his breaths echoing off the walls now, but earlier there had been the unmistakable sound of puking. I had no clue how the kid managed to throw up so much, it seemed like every time I was around him he was hunched over and retching up blood and bile. I'd have to examine the contents next time, analyzing what his body rejected could help in figuring out what we needed to do to help him...

"-She's right here. Yes, yes, I'll do what I can- I can't promise the response, but if we can get the equipment into the courtroom it might be our best shot. Yes. Right, here she is now." I raised an eyebrow, but Erwin simply shook his head slightly and handed me the phone. Though I knew who it would be before I had even heard his voice, I was taken aback slightly by the rushed tone he spoke in the second I began to greet him.

"Not now, Shitty Glasses. I only have about two minutes left, Erwin will explain. Just tell me how Eren is. Can you- I mean, his, his mentality. Is it...?" I sighed, glancing at the bathroom door. While it was true I could just warp to the other side of it, I doubted whether the kid inside really trusted me enough not to have a panic attack at the sight of me.

"How in the name of science did you get him to calm down? You were able to keep it a secret for longer than you should've, there has to be something you did! Eren won't say anything, but I can't help him otherwise!" I frowned, though more out of the dissatisfaction of not understanding than anything else. "How much longer are those wasters of space on the Council going to keep you? Your mate's taken up residence in my bathroom, and I don't-"

"Give him the phone." I opened my mouth to ask for some form of clarification, but I ended up only giving a nervous laugh as I could imagine in perfect clarity the deadly expression the Vampire King must be currently wearing.

"Ha, ah, of course!" I moved the cellphone away from my ear and let my face fall into terrified despair, facing the door to the bathroom and grimacing. Ravioli would kill me if he found out Eren flipped out because he was disturbed.... "Helloooo? Eren?"

No response.

"Heeyyyy, I've got Levi on the phone here!" I felt my expression go dry as I immediately heard the freshly turned vampire begin to shuffle around inside, relieved but still unamused that it was only the mention of Levi that- "Aweee~ Levi! Did you hear that?? Eren's such a sweetheart- look at this, look at this Erwin! Eren's braving the big bad world of outside the bathroom to talk to Levi! And to think I was originally unamused! It's so- hey!"

I crossed my arms as irritation eroded away some of my excitement, scrunching up my face as I watched Eren retreat back into the bathroom with the phone he had stolen from me. Oh well... At least the kid didn't seem to realize that with vampiric hearing, Erwin and I could really hear everything he was saying.

"Where are you? Everything's so scary... Did you finally get tired of me and leave me and-" I leaned closer to the door, waiting with bated breath to find out how Levi was able to stop Eren's oncoming panic attack without even seeing him. "But you-" there was a heavy pause, and then a shuddering sigh from Eren's side of the call. "So you... You didn't leave me, right? I'm not useless and a burden and unable to be of any help and-"

In the next pause I turned to Erwin with an incredulous expression, though he didn't seem all that surprised as we listened to the way Eren's breathing evened out and his tone grew stronger resulting from only what he had been told over the phone. Whatever Levi had said to him had quite the effect, and now his mate's words didn't betray the same fragility as they had before.

"Why will you be gone so long? It's-" another pause, and I turned to Erwin expectantly, but he just waved me away. "Why do you want me to- It wouldn't be safe if Tueur resumes attacking humans! Are you really going to leave me there? Are you trying to abandon me? What did I do wrong??" I let my head fall against the door with a long sigh, knowing from how quickly Eren's breathing had become hysterical that now mere words wouldn't be enough to calm him.

I warped into the bathroom before I could lose the will to do so, silently pleading to whatever deity had given me relatively good fortune in the past to let this go through without a hitch. The Vampire King may not be able to see me, but if Eren said something... No force on this side of the mountains could stop him from burning me alive. Already Eren's eyes were impossibly large as they looked up at me, his body crumpled to the ground and his knuckles white as he gripped at the phone with one hand and pulled at his hair with the other.

"Shhh.... Listen Eren, Levi's on the phone with you, it'll be okay, it's fine, and I promise you'll feel much better if you drink this..." I held out a small medicine cup I had grabbed from the bathroom counter, one that I had tried to get the young vampire to drink earlier but I now realize was just forgotten about. He shook his head rapidly, and I heard the faint questioning demands to know what was going on from the other side of the phone. "It's alright, Eren, it's alright... Look here, listen, Levi's asking you a question-" I raised my voice, glancing at the phone and hoping Levi could hear me, "Levi wants you to take the medicine, isn't that right, Levi?"

Eren looked up at me like he wanted to hide inside of a well and cry, but after a moment his eyes flicked to the phone that he had lowered from his ear, his recently enhanced senses allowing him to hear Levi's understanding confirmation without raising the phone. I could just barely make out the words myself- Levi sounded as if he was trying to coax a puppy into coming just a bit closer, and after a moment it worked. The medicine cup was snatched from my fingers and the medicine promptly drained, and I could clearly hear the praises from Levi's side of the phone call.

"Good, good Eren, now can I have the phone back? I need to ask Levi something..." The horrified look came back and the phone was clutched to Eren's chest, and I let out a dramatic sigh at the thought of trying to get the phone back. I needed Levi to explain what the hell to do with this kid, but already I was beginning to doubt if Erwin would be able to get his phone even after Levi had hung up.

"No! No, you can't have him! He's mine!" I blinked, surprised, then felt my expression twist painfully as it tried to portray both excitement and a certain level of 'oh shit'. As much as I wanted to fangirl over how Eren had just claimed Levi as his, the fact that he was regarding an inanimate object as his mate was more than worrisome.

"Don't worry, you can talk to Levi from other phones too! But that one doesn't belong to you, so if I could just have it-"

"Don't touch him!" I drew back, my forced smile even more strained than previously. "Don't take him away from me! You can't-"

It was barely heard from how the phone was muffled as it was still clutched to Eren's chest, but I still breathed a sigh of relief when he froze at the sound of Levi's voice speaking up again: "Oi, Eren, listen to me... Are you listening, Eren?"

"...Yeah... She's trying to take you away from me. She can't do that, can she?" I leaned forward slightly, straining to hear his reply. Luckily the brunet had raised the phone back to his ear, so it wasn't quite as muffled anymore.

"Eren, I'm not in the phone. You can't reach me through it. That phone belongs to Erwin, so Hanji has to give it back to him." Eren's expression turned fearful, and somehow I think Levi knew, as he rushed to reassure him. "But it'll be okay, I'll be back before you know it, and just because you have to give up the phone doesn't mean you're giving me up. It's okay, Eren... I'm not abandoning you. Okay?"

"...yeah... Okay... But you have to promise to come back right away, okay?" There was no reply. Vaguely I remembered what had been said about a time limit, and I groaned. "Okay? Levi! Levi, answer me!"

"Eren, look-" the wild gaze transferred to me immediately, terrified and alone, "Eren, the connection must have been disturbed. You'll see him soon if you do as he told you to, though, so what exactly is it that he told you to do?"

"He left me... He really left me... He lied to me! He said he wouldn't leave me, and now he's gone, and I can't ever get him back, and I'm scared and tired and-"

"Woah!" I barely managed to catch Eren as he fell forward, both the medicine and the stress sending him into a temporary peaceful state. I sighed and tugged him over to the door before unlocking and opening it, wanting to test whether he would get sick from warping when he was asleep too but too afraid of Levi's reaction if he found out I was experimenting in his absence. "O-kay then, care to tell me what's going on here?"

"Levi was arrested." I blinked, then blinked again.

"What." Erwin sighed, bending down to pick up Eren before standing and looking slightly uncomfortable as he tried to balance him half over his shoulder.

"Apparently for the treason of leaving the battlefield with Eren when he was hurt and not doing anything for Humanity. There'll be a trial soon, and he was able to give me a rough idea of what he wanted to do, but he made it clear to get Eren to his family before anything else." I sighed and fell backwards onto the floor, somehow not surprised that I would have to wait still longer to understand everything.

"I hate not knowing..." Erwin's grunt of agreement let me know he thought I hated not knowing a little too much, but hey, if you're not a cat, curiosity can't do anything bad to you. Right?

"Anyway, do you know where this kid used to live?" I frowned, then hauled myself into a standing position and went over to my nightstand to grab the laptop off of it.

"Nope, but it shouldn't be too hard to find out. He lived with Mikasa Ackerman, right? Eren was babbling about her at one point..." To my relief a Facebook page was easy to find, and from there it was only a few more minutes before we were standing outside of Eren's former apartment, Eren with a long cloak covering him as he was carried by Erwin and several large blood bags in my own arms as I struggled to ring the doorbell. The door opened half a minute later, a petite blond boy peering out at us cautiously.

"Do you need something?" I sighed and gestured to the lump Erwin was carrying, and the blond's expression turned to terror and despair when he realized who it was. "No, no no no no no... This can't be happening... Is he...? I mean, how bad is..."

"He's not dead, if that's what you're asking." The relief was tangible as he sighed, though the words that slipped out of my mouth next had him standing ramrod straight and staring at the cloaked vampire with large eyes. "Well, not dead in the way you're speaking of."

"...You can't mean... Mikasa! You need to get over here- now!" He took a deep breath, turning to back inside. "Come in. Be careful with him..."

He led us inside and helped us position Eren on a couch and dim the lights before we removed the large hood shadowing his face. By this point Mikasa had joined us, and both of Eren's friends took deep breaths and stepped back slightly as the took in how pale he was and the fangs that just barely poked out of his mouth. The blood I had brought suddenly made sense to them, and while the blond boy began shaking uncontrollably it was the raven haired girl to move first. She dove for Eren and squeezed him tight, looking like she was fighting back tears.

"This can't be real, this can't be real, this can't be happening... The bandages on his head! And the... The fangs... He's..." I sighed and moved forward to place a hand on her shoulder, but to my surprise my hand was immediately slapped away and an angry gaze was soon drilling into me. "How could that bastard do something like this? Bite him and then just dump him? Leave him injured and passed out and not human-"

"Woah, woah, calm down! Eren was bitten by a member of Tueur, not Levi. That idiot wouldn't even kiss him, and biting our mates is just about as intimate as it gets." Confusion took the place of fury, and I looked to Erwin to help. 

"Levi's done his best with Eren, I can promise you that. However, recent events have put him into a position where he is unable to care for Eren, so he requested that we take him here. I will not tell you exactly what happened, as it's best Eren doesn't hear any of it until he has to, but you'll find out sooner than later anyway. Before we leave, we just have to teach you a few things, so that you can, well, so that you can take care of a vampire. Is that okay?" I was slightly envious of the way the commander was able to speak as if nothin was wrong, strongly and smoothly, but I was more relieved that the two humans were nodding hesitantly now more than anything.

"But..." My gaze shifted to the blond boy again, and I pitied the kid for how visibly terrified he was. "Before that... You're the Vampire King's friends?"

"Oh, we totally forgot to introduce ourselves! Oopsies! I'm Hanji Zoe, and the blond mountain over there is Erwin Smith. I know your friend is Mikasa, but you are...?" The blond flinched, eyes darting back to me from where they had locked onto Erwin after recognizing his name. Even Mikasa, who had been too preoccupied with petting Eren's hair to look over at me, seemed to recognize the name of the Vampire King's commander, but I was glad neither of them said anything. I mean, let's face it- the kids were as good as in-laws to the royal family, there was no need for formality.

"S-sorry! I'm Armin Arlert!" I sent him a smile, and he seemed to relax slightly. 

"Nice to meet you. Now, I suppose we'll just start with the blood: I brought enough for a week. Eren... Well, actually, let's start with Eren. Be gentle with him, okay? And I would suggest not letting him into the bathroom alone- no telling when he'll come out. If he starts to look like he wants to escape, let him. I promise you it's a million times better than if he accidentally warped himself, 'cuz at that point you can count on the poor kid to be an even bigger mess. Don't talk about him being a vampire, and don't talk about you guys being human. Make him seem useful, I guess, and-"

"Hold on! You're talking way too fast! What are you saying? Eren's a bit of an idiot sometimes, but he's strong. He'll be okay, I know he will be, he probably just needs to vent his anger or something..." I exchanged a look with Erwin, neither of us really wanting to address the topic directly. "I mean, he will be okay, right? Is it normal for vampires to have to be treated like this? It is, right?"

"Well, that depends on how you look at it..." Little He-Man looked liked he wanted to find a corner to hide in, but he clenched his fists and waited silently for me to explain. I sighed, giving in. "Fine, fine, but keep big sister off of me, 'kay? She's like a female Levi... Honestly... Anyway, about Eren- there's really no way to tell what exactly is happening to him right now. What I can tell you is that soon after turning he went through a lot of trauma, and his mental condition is pretty shaky. He's often overtaken by fits of hysteria, but I can't help you there... Levi was the only one that could calm him down."

"But... But it'll get better! Right? Mikasa, Mikasa you know Eren, we know Eren! That numbskull's the type of idiot to survive everything! Right...?" I sighed, reaching out and ruffling the kid's hair.

"I don't know, kid. But we'll do our best- Levi will skin me alive if something goes wrong. That kid has the Vampire King watching his back, so try not to worry so much. He needs to be around friendly faces, so keep smiling, and try to get him to feed at least a little. If he gets too worked up, I brought a bottle of medicine you can try to get him to drink- it works like sedatives, just done a bit differently so that it has an effect on vampires. And no matter what, don't hate Levi. No matter what you hear, he's not the bad guy here." Mikasa was frowning, but Armin nodded slightly and lowered himself back to sit on the floor and leaned his back against the couch Eren was laying on.

"Yeah..." I sighed, eager to leave and get Erwin to tell me the exact details of what was happening, but knowing we couldn't just yet. 

"Don't worry, kiddos- I'm here 'till Eren opens his huge eyes, and I'll try to help you guys get him to feed then too. And I'll get you my cellphone number, so if you have any issues just call, alright?" This time it was Mikasa who responded, nodding numbly as she looked down at Eren's head in her lap.

The look in her eyes was one of fear and anxious worry, but oddly enough it put me at ease. Eren deserved to have someone hovering over him until he was better, and the expression I saw now told me that this girl would be that person. She would see Eren through this, her and the blond coconut head, and hopefully everything would work out with what Levi had entrusted to Erwin.

My only regret was that I felt when thinking of just how badly Levi had been cheated: having his mate bitten by the enemy, his struggles to find happiness in what he considered a normal lifestyle temporarily thrown away, and now he was locked up while other people took care of his mate. We didn't have many kind traditions, but this was one of the few we did hold onto. Once we had chosen a mate, that person became the number one priority in your life. If one of the two is sick enough to miss work, the other is expected to be found at home as well, sitting dutifully at the bedside of their mate. Looking at these kids at Eren's side while thinking of Levi behind bars, almost certainly worrying about this brunet...

I'm truly sorry, Levi.


	28. Chapter 28

Levi's POV

 

It was cold. It was dark, too, of course, but that really wasn't an issue with my heightened senses. What did bother me was the prickling of my skin akin to losing feeling in all of your limbs at once, the constant reminder that even though it was summer for Humanity I would remain wrapped in the cold eternally. Even Eren, my single way out of the endless frozen temperature, had lost his own Humanity not even a week ago. 

I felt myself take in a sharp breath of air at the thought of my chosen mate, at the thought of how I had left him with his sanity only just barely hanging on by a thread. I wouldn't have minded being wrapped in his cold compared the lonely cold I felt now. The thought of him was the only thing keeping me from killing my guards and escaping- because honestly, who did they think they were fooling when they sneered at me, so full of themselves that they believed that I couldn't lay a finger on them with the handcuffs I wore preventing me from warping?

No, there was only one thing keeping me from wiping those arrogant expressions of these bastards' faces, and that was the thought of what would happen to Eren if I screwed up now. There was little hope for the upcoming trial to go my way, even with Erwin as my lawyer, but if I didn't let them kick me around now then it would be ten times worse. Eren would be hunted down, Humanity claiming that his so-called corruption was part of the reason I was in the wrong, and they'd decide it was only right to put him out of his misery.

Perhaps it was.

I let out a long, tired sigh, slouching back against one wall of the cell they had jammed me in and slowly sliding down and letting myself come into contact with the filthy floor. I was too weary to protest the germs, too frustrated to care about anything as trivial as that when Eren was in danger and I was able to do nothing about it. He'd been in danger the second I'd chosen him, though, hadn't he? Through nights we spent curled against each other out of my selfishness and both of our awkward curiosities about what the other was comfortable with as we played lovers, through fights about reality and my skewed perspective about normalcy and happiness, through muttered words of meaningless comfort as he wet my neck and shoulder with tears...

He'd been in danger from the moment I chose him, from the moment that I forced him to help me live out my fantasies about happiness, and now that the consequences had caught up they were causing a train wreck of pain and unstable emotions. I was always so selfish, every moment I spent in the self-sacrificing brat's presence I took full advantage of his obliviousness and eagerness to please, and I grew used to being able to steal his warmth. 

Further selfishness sent him away, into more danger as he was kidnapped and bitten and leaving me with nothing to do about it, and yet still I found myself being selfish enough not to tell anyone that Eren was showing more and more signs of having an unstable mentality. Instead of doing anything I demanded only more of him, making him a murderer and collapsing what was left of the stable mindset he had, and only now was I regretting it all. Regretting it all because now I had been caught and punished, though for perhaps different reasons than I knew I deserved. Yet still, after all my mistakes, I found myself clinging to selfish thoughts: Eren needed me. He needed me because no one else could help him, only me, only me. 

And so I didn't try to escape. I didn't fight back when I was slammed against the wall hard enough that I felt my skull crack slightly and a thick drop of blood slide down my scalp when they first put me down here. I didn't protest, didn't yell, didn't tell the human guards how useless they were. Eren needed me, and though I knew it was unlikely I would be allowed near him again, I could still try to protect him. The best way to do that would be to let Humanity forget about him, and for that to be a possibility I couldn't give then reason to look for a way to hurt me through others. If I let them hurt me through me and only me, Eren could stay safe, and for that I was willing to sacrifice anything I had to.

It was soon after I had begun nodding off, head slumping forward and shoulders slouching, that short staccato footsteps echoed down the stairs and stopped in front of my cell. I raised my head, trying to show only disinterest as I watched the guard that had appeared unlock my cell with one hand as his other held a familiar looking gun- the same type of gun we had used to shoot the special bullets we had made to handicap our vampire enemy. I was prodded into standing up silently, kicked forward and out of the cell with no words and only the cold of the gun pressing into the back of my head.

I was led up the stairs and through disgustingly dingy hallways before we stopped outside a large set of double doors, grand but worn and in a state of disrepair. I snorted, amused at how Humanity claimed to live in such a great era when they wasted all their money on glass buildings and parties instead of keeping up with the maintenance on their important buildings. I knew where I was, as there was only a single large court in the expanse of land Humanity hadn't trashed and left behind. It was reserved for cases Humanity's Council wanted to make a show of as all other minor perpetrators of crimes simply vanished as Humanity's Council tried to reduce the crime rate to zero along with the excess population they were trying to support on the meager amount of land they had left. Personally, I thought that the fact that they didn't even attempt to clean up their shit in the rest of the Earth proved them to be even more stupid than I had originally assumed, though it wasn't as if I was making an effort either, so I couldn't really talk.

I wasn't surprised when the inside of the courtroom was bright and shiny and new, the stage for those made examples of, but I still felt a tick of annoyance that they didn't even try to clean the grime out of the cell I had been stuffed in when this single room had all the latest upgrades: I even caught the quiet hum from the corner of the room telling me that a forcefield of energy had been set up to protect Humanity's Council as they acted as Judge and Jury.

I was pushed towards the small stand set up for the accused, tiny and meant to cower in the shadow of the large raised stand meant for the panel of Humanity's Council. My already shackled wrists were fortified and chained to heavy clips on the floor along with my ankles and even a collar for around my neck, weighing me down and causing me to struggle to stand straight even with my superior strength to those usually charged here. I hissed from slight pain when I shifted and I came to realize that the shackles and chains had been forged from silver, a material that I was mostly resistant to after a long and exceedingly painful time spent disciplined by my uncle but not quite immune to.

Erwin was standing ramrod straight at a slightly larger connected stand next to me, obviously uncomfortable next to such large amounts of silver but refusing to let the expression slip onto his face. He nodded my way, pulling a briefcase up to rest on the stand in front of him before unlatching and opening it, and I let out a small breath of relief when he pulled out my rarely-used crown. It was a small thing, but once he leaned over to place it on my head I was hit with the feeling of being that much more undeniable. Wearing the crown gave me the irrefutable right to raise my head and look at Humanity's Council with disdain, something I usually could do but now the fact was visible to all those watching from their televisions as I knew most of the population would be. Yes, Erwin truly was fit for this job, and I felt some of the tension in my shoulders relax at the thought.

I sent a sharp look at the large camera that a bland looking young man was pushing and focusing in my direction, eyes landing on the bright red light telling me that it was on and broadcasting as I heard Humanity's Council shift and ready themselves for what was about to come- the trial to prove that the Vampire King was a traitor and a corrupt being, and, if I had predicted the Council's moves correctly, that they should have total control over vampires as well as Humanity. It was stupid, so fucking stupid, because it wasn't like they didn't already push us around, but still as the overly large room grew quiet I felt my stomach twist. The camera that had switched from me to panning across the room at all the empty space, a supposed show of Humanity's wealth under its Council, was now focusing on the panel of bastards that determined my life.

"Good evening, to all watching, human and otherwise. The case that is about to be shown will prove to be rough for the smaller children, so viewer digression is advised." I snorted, but a warning glance from Erwin told me to be silent lest I wanted the camera back on me just to show me laughing at the Council. "However, for those of you who can watch, what is about to be shown will be a turning point in the history we've written for ourselves. It has come to our attention that the fabled Vampire King and all his splendor are faux, a mere imitation of the former respectable leaders from before him that made the vampire kingdom something to behold and respect, and now the entire kingdom is tarnished and rotten. It is no longer fit to avert your gaze out of respect when you happen to pass a vampire on the street, and it is no longer fit to let them pick out favorites from our elder class to take away. It is time to end the rule of vampires, and it is time that they disappear altogether."

I blinked, then blinked again. This was not what I had been expecting, and from the way Erwin had set his jaw he hadn't been expecting this either. Humanity's Council didn't want control; no, they wanted complete annihilation. They wanted to kill us off, and an incredulous look shared with Erwin let me know that we were thinking the same thing: these fucking idiots can't do a damn thing without us.

"Before we allow the defendant to make his case, we have decided to give him the full rights of a human and therefor we will state the details of the crimes he has been brought to court for, even if he is not close to being one of us." I grit my teeth, focusing on the sting of the silver and the weight of the chains as I tried to keep my breathing even and my fury from taking control.

This had nothing to do with a generous decision to give me Humanity's rights, this had everything to do with putting on a show. Arrest the king and drag him to court, dress him in chains to show his inferiority as his crimes were recited in a way that suggested a view far from objective, and I was made out to be a monster without a heart. 

I may be a monster, but at least I had a heart.

"His Majesty Levi Ackerman has been brought to the court under grounds for suspecting the corruption of a human and definitive proof of traitorous acts against both of our kingdoms, along with the smaller charges from years we have tried to overlook filled with rude and disrespectful conduct in the presence of our Council, the divine and righteous leaders of Humanity." I could practically hear the gasps of those watching the television, but my eyes were set on the speaking member, the only standing member but not the only one with an infuriating smirk playing with their lips.

"Objection!" I swung my head around to face Erwin, not quite understanding the rules of court but sure that now was not the time to be speaking up. "In the laws set for Humanity that you have agreed to follow for this case, it is explicitly stated that no charge may be presented as concrete when it has been brought to the court. We are here for the reason to determine if there is proof or not, so to speak as if the case has already been decided is incorrect and assuming." 

All praise that fucking huge-browed Captain America, all hail the goddamned snarky and dangerously sharp vampire commander who may just give me a chance. Humanity's Council hesitated, looks exchanged for a moment before quiet whispering followed, but soon the courtroom was silent once more, and I grew more tense still.

"Our apologies. The accusation stands, but our wording to describe it as final was incorrect." Erwin nodded curtly, and then it was my turn to smirk.

That had been their first mistake- allowing everyone watching to discover that Humanity's Council wasn't perfect. They made mistakes like everyone else, they were corrected like everyone else, and they were in no position to deny the rules that they acted so high above all the fucking time. The playing field was as even as it could get now, with the crown on my head and the admittance to being wrong on Humanity's Council's behalf, and now all we could do was hope that it would be enough.

"Continuing, the trial deciding the fate of Your Majesty Levi Ackerman and your kingdom will proceed as follows: an uninvolved party will be watching from an undisclosed location, and will be the deciding vote. We will make our case, you will make yours, though we ask that you follow standard procedures and have your lawyer question you as he sees fit, and when the third party believes that they've seen enough they will send us a message with their decision. Are these conditions agreeable to Your Majesty?" I let out a hiss of breath between clenched teeth before giving a curt nod, because what other choice did I have? 

I had to remember to keep letting them hit me, keep letting them forget Eren, keep letting them keep Eren out of this...

"Excellent. We shall begin." Somewhere in the back of my mind, I mused on the fact that the ringleader of the Council refused to say 'I' instead of 'we,' though I suspected I was just trying to come up with more reasons to hate these fucktards. "On the night the battle at Tueur's base took place, the leader of Tueur was killed. His ashes were spread as His Majesty Levi Ackerman announced victory, though there would still be many small battles left with the smaller branches of the group to deal with. Hundreds of human lives were lost, stolen by war between vampires, and yet still the Vampire King himself proved himself to be useless: it was not him who killed the leader of Tueur."

Again I could picture the shocked expressions on the faces of humans across the country, and suddenly I was hit by a desperate hope that Eren wasn't watching. I didn't think that Mikasa and Armin were dumb enough to let him, but if they were out or perhaps they really were idiots, then what was about to happen would kill Eren. I sent a silent prayer to whatever god decided to deem me okay enough for guidance, wishing only that he would be okay, and then I was forced to yank myself back into reality.

"Eren Yeager, the young human boy that His Majesty Levi Ackerman chose at his 18th ceremony not long ago, was the one who saved us all, but not by his own volition. The boy had been manipulated and broken from the moment he had been taken away, and His Majesty failed to do anything to protect him when he was kidnapped and bitten. Instead he was forced to fight a war and become a killer, not human mentally or physically." I stiffened, and I could feel Erwin give me another warning glance as I struggled not to get too worked up about the words spoken about my chosen mate. "And yet, instead of stepping up and at least doing his part after Tueur's head had been taken out, His Majesty abandoned both of our kingdoms in the middle of the fight."

Fuck you, Humanity's Stupidass Goddamned Council. I was furious, eyebrow twitching as I struggled not to reveal my fury to the camera as I mentally beat the Council up for being so picky. The whole truth, my ass! Unfortunately, because what was being said now was being said before humanity had any bias, it would make it would be that much harder for us to make our case.

"So, with these blaring facts, we find His Majesty Levi Ackerman unfit to rule, as he has abandoned us in an act of treason and has corrupted the single human he was allowed contact with. We cannot let any more precious human lives to be wasted, precious human blood to be spilled, precious human souls to be torn. Our state rests." I didn't even bother flicking my eyes in Erwin's direction when he began, knowing what I would find- determination, refusal to believe in no hope, and the prepared answer. Once more, I found myself mentally thanking my luck as the blond man as he cleared his throat quietly, keeping his posture calm as he took the lead after a beat of silence.

"I, Commander Erwin Smith, will be acting as His Majesty Levi Ackerman's lawyer for the case. As requested previously the defendant will not speak unless spoken to, and I will provide prompting to show the truths of the case." The taller man walked from around his designated stand to hover just in front of mine, eyeing the silver collar tight and heavy around my neck as he began speaking. "However, I must first ask that everything unnecessary is removed from... This. I know that the metal used to stop us from warping was used in his handcuffs, so those alone chained to the floor would be more than enough. The rest of these silver chains will only provide to further aggregate and harm the defendant, and I suggest that Humanity's Council take into consideration the fact that one of your golden laws to recite to citizens is to harm no one consciously."

There were whispered consultations in Humanity's Council, and then once more the ringleader of the group turned back to us with a less than pleased expression stretched across his face. Another nondescript looking young male was sent scurrying over to me to hurriedly unlock the excessive chains, and I found myself letting out a sigh of relief as most of them clanked to the floor and were dragged away. I did my best to avoid looking down at myself, but I knew that if I did I would be greeted with the sight of raw skin wherever the silver chains had been rubbing against my usually pale flesh, a sight that I hoped would disappear quickly. Already I knew I must appear slightly aggravated, the bright lights in the room not from the sun but still irritating.

"Good. Now then, we can begin." Suddenly the air around Erwin felt different, heavier and darker, and I resisted the urge to grin at the thought of Humanity's Council feeling pressed upon themselves as my commander and lawyer did his job. "Before we approach the subject of the night of the so-called traitorous act, it's important to know background. If things are taken out of context, they may easily be blown out of proportion. Say, for example, exactly how much His Majesty Levi Ackerman did on the battlefield, felling enemy after enemy and pausing only for a short while to take his chosen mate to safety. So, Your Majesty, would you please begin by telling us why Eren Yeager was taken over the mountains? Please, the truth now. You stand in a court of law."

If I had thought the air was suffocating before, it was nothing compared to now. Humanity's Council sat up straighter, eyes a bit wider as they tried to stare us down into submission. The stiffness of my own muscles may not have been from fear or warning, but I too was surprised. I shot an incredulous look Erwin's way, wondering why the hell he had chosen now to be a good time for me to reveal all of Humanity's Council's shit, but he only sent me an almost-not-there nod to assure me that it was the right move. I sighed, resigning myself to let Erwin plan out all strategical moves like I knew I would in the end, and raised my eyes to stare unblinkingly up at Humanity's Council as I began speaking.

"In that case, perhaps it's best if we start from the beginning. There's more to the story than just thinking, 'hey, he looks pretty damn hot, let's take him home,' and it's not a story to be taken lightly. To get the true story, and not whatever lies this council of bastards has been feeding you your entire fucking lives-"

"Your Majesty, language please! You must remember that you stand in a noble and official building, and that there may be small children watching this!" I grit my teeth, sending a murderous glare to the councilman who had spoken up, but inwardly I knew it was probably best if I toned it down anyway. Remember, Levi, let them hurt you, let them forget Eren...

"Of course. My apologies." Erwin sent me an odd look, obviously not have been expecting me to be so agreeable, but I ignored him. "In any case, it began with the Blood Wars. I recently discovered in a conversation with Eren Yeager that Humanity's Council had been teaching everyone that it was Humanity who had lost so much in that war, and I was furious to learn so. My kingdom lost over 70% of its population in that war, even every peacekeeping vampire being chased into a corner by humans that were scared for no reason. The sky was constantly a dirty black, tainted with the ashes of fallen vampires, and it became clear that if we were left as a mangled and torn apart species that we would go extinct within a few decades. We did not win that war, far from it.

"However, Humanity soon learned that unlike they originally thought, the vampires that had put themselves into their society were not a threat. In fact, they had been helping them, keeping society alive and running smoothly by doing jobs no one cared for or that were too difficult for someone of normal strength to carry out. Without these jobs being done, Humanity began to fall apart after winning the war, and Humanity's Council came crawling to my uncle, who had been the Vampire King at the time. Kenny Ackerman had struck a deal with humanity, one that was favorable to us both in terms of picking ourselves up off the ground. We would send as many vampires as we could spare to help rebuild humanity, taking back up those necessary but trying jobs, and in exchange humanity would help us avoid extinction by letting us mate with humans."

There was an uncomfortable shuffling in Humanity's Council now, and I noticed with a sense of smug satisfaction that they all refused to glance at the camera, as if they may accidentally look into the eyes of the citizens where they may see the guilt and anger there. I wondered silently if anyone even believed me, but there was no way I could stop now.

"So no, getting chosen by us does not mean that you are perfect. It does not mean that you are superior to those around you, and it does not mean that you have been chosen by an honorable race. It only means that you were chosen to help us reproduce and survive, part of the deal from thousands of years ago." I glanced at Erwin, wondering if that was enough, but he still held his look of grim determination.

"If that was the case, Your Majesty Levi Ackerman, would you please tell us why you hadn't chosen a mate for ten years before choosing Eren Yeager? If it was merely for reproduction, any human would do." I blinked, understanding why Humanity's Council didn't seem too disgruntled yet- the way I spoke, I had made us out to be blunt and uncaring. I cursed under my breath, then raised my head and started speaking again.

"No, not any human would do. Generally, we don't want to bite our chosen mates. Because this is for our reproduction, the ideal situation is to have a child and then send the human back to their lives with their family and friends. We would keep the child, who would always turn out to be vampiric, and take care of raising it ourselves. However, it became clear that there would be many humans who did not want to return to their side of the mountains, instead asking us to bite them and let them stay with us and their child.

"Unfortunately, it also became clear that it was not easy to bite them and keep them healthy. Some humans are not fit to undergo the change, some breaking down physically and others..." I trailed off, feeling as if someone had just shoved a hundred pounds of silver down my throat. Erwin watched me carefully, his expression betraying his concern, but after a few deep breaths I straightened and cleared my throat, though my voice still cracked on the first word. "Others, others break mentally. We don't want it to happen, why would we? They did nothing wrong, yet just because they chose to stay with us they end up dying..."

"So Your Majesty chose Eren Yeager because you believed that he would be able to survive the turning if he so wished to do so?" I nodded, taking another few deep breaths before speaking.

"Yes. I wouldn't have bitten him unless he asked me to, but if he did, I wanted to have chosen someone who could survive it. Unfortunately, many things can affect this process. For example, if the human is under a lot of stress and fear, their chance of survival is much lower." I looked to Erwin for affirmation, and he nodded slightly, so I kept going. "I did not bite Eren Yeager. He did not ask for it. Instead, he asked to go home. He asked to go back to his side of the mountains, and so I sent him back with a few guards to keep him safe. 

"When he arrived on the other side of the mountains, he decided that he wanted to help fight against Tueur, who was at this point beginning to prove to be a much larger problem than originally thought. He chose to go into a place that my guards were unable to follow in an effort to get himself kidnapped, thinking that if he used himself as bait he could be useful. I have no clue why he did so, but he did, and he was out powered. He was bitten by one of the kidnappers, and while I was able to arrive in time to kill both of them I was unable to stop the process of turning that had begun. All I could do was feed him and hope that he would become a healthy vampire, which I did." Erwin nodded, more noticeably this time, and I paused so that he could ask his next question.

At this point, Humanity's Council had begun to whisper amongst theirselves quietly, and I let myself breath a sigh of relief. This may work, if we could just convince the third party that the uncomfortable feelings the council was showing proved the truth of my story...

"So you did not corrupt Eren Yeager?" I snorted, though I was more defensive about the question than I let on.

"No. Why would I? I had waited ten years before choosing him, why would I want to lose him? I did what I could to protect him even though he had asked to leave me, and while I regret not being able to fully protect him like I would've been able to if he had stayed by my side, I would make the same choice again even if given the option otherwise. I would not keep him against his will." Once more I wondered how humanity was reacting, watching the Vampire King confess to the lies told and secrets kept, confess to not being quite so heartless after all.

"Excellent. Moving on, why don't you tell us about Eren Yeager's condition as the war with Tueur progressed. Was it steady at first?" I sighed, wanting to talk about anything but this but knowing that I had to anyway.

"Yes. Yes, it was steady at first."

"And for how long before it began to change?" I dropped my head down, shoulders slouching.

"Not long." The reply came out a whisper, but when Erwin didn't reply I knew he wanted me to continue. "Perhaps a day, maybe less. The stress and fear had been too much, and his mentality was unstable. But then you- you decided you wanted to use him in the war. And Eren agreed. I did not. It was his right to decide, though, so he began helping us. That's why he was in the battle at Tueur's base, but the second he had done his job I removed him from the battlefield to keep him safe. Tueur's leader found us. He tried to kill us both, and while I came close to killing him I was still unable to do so. I was unable to defend myself properly, and I would've died if Eren hadn't stepped up to kill him himself."

"So once more, it wasn't your choice what happened to Eren?" I snapped my head up, furious it was even suggested though I knew the question was necessary.

"No! Why the hell would I send him to battle? Why the hell would I want him anywhere but at the palace, where he would've been safe? Where I could've posted a hundred guards around him and kept him well fed and well rested and maybe his mental state would've improved? No, no it wasn't my choice. It wasn't my choice that Eren became murderer, either, and the least I could do after that was take him back to the palace where he could get medical help. I was not gone long, only as long as needed, and then I returned to the battlefield and announced Tueur's leader as dead before helping take out the rest of the forces." I bowed my head once more, gritting out one last thing before going silent. "I am not that unfeeling."

The courtroom was dead silent after my outburst, giving me time to calm my breathing and eventually raise my head. Erwin was watching me carefully, but Humanity's Council was sending forward yet another nondescript-looking boy to tap Erwin's shoulder lightly and ask him in hushed terms to return to his place. The mountain of a man did so, but the boring-looking boy did not move afterward, instead glancing up at Humanity's Council. One of the members in the back spoke up this time, one of the few females in the group.

"We will now begin out cross-examination of His Majesty Levi Ackerman. We, too, will be introducing background beforehand." Erwin and I exchanged a look, but then the young boy was speaking up, and I faced forwards once more to stare unblinkingly forward.

"Y-Your Majesty, if you would please begin by telling us how your- your uncle died, Kenny Ackerman. It was not mentioned, though you mentioned him as Vampire King." I raised an eyebrow, but did not turn to face the boy.

"I killed him. It's how every Vampire King is chosen. To become king, you must kill your predecessor." The boy nodded, then asked his next question.

"So, so you kill? A lot, per-perhaps?" This time I sent him an incredulous look before answering, unbelieving that this was how Humanity's Council was wasting their cross-examination, as these were things everyone knew.

"Yes. It's the only way to survive as king, and there's no such thing as retiring. I'll be king until my death, and I've sworn to keep the peace between our races as best as I could during that time." There was a pause this time, a beat of silence before the next question was asked.

"Where did you learn how to kill?" Another obvious question, I felt.

"When I was a child, growing up on the streets." Nothing was said, so I took it as a sign to elaborate. "Every child is sent out into a brutal part of the kingdom at a young age. It's a sort of right-of-passing, to weed out those who could not serve the kingdom or humanity and instead would become one of those who would waste what blood Humanity lets us have."

"And the, ah, the children who are from humans? The children- the children you have with chosen mates." My eyes widened, but I kept my gaze pointed straight ahead. I understood the direction of the questions now...

"Those are usually... It depends. If the human parent stays, and survive being bitten, then usually they will raise the child themselves. However, that child will always be a point of ridicule, and the chances of it accomplishing anything great is statistically inferior to those who go through at least a decade on the streets." More silence, but after a moment of refusing to say any more the next question was asked.

"And would- would Your Majesty please, ah, please tell us how many- how many children die this way? Per year?" I frowned, turning to Erwin with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged, and my words echoed the gesture.

"I don't know." The boy nodded, then cleared his throat.

"R-right. So, then, now, would Your Majesty please tell- tell us where Tueur learned, ah, learned how to kill?" A sense of growing dread weighed my stomach down, but there was nothing I could do about it.

"The same way."

"So, then, ah, your society taught Tueur to kill?"

"Well, I guess, but-"

"P-please answer the question, Your Majesty." I scowled, then sighed.

"Yes. But what society isn't like that? Humanity teaches itself how to lie and cheat and steal through their society, we're simply more direct and do not lie about-"

"T-that's enough, Your, ah, Your Majesty. As the, ah, as the third party, I have- I have decided. I find Your Majesty Levi A-Ackerman to be guilty. We cannot- cannot have such a brutal being ruling alongside- alongside Humanity. We are- we are pure, and vampiric society will, ah, will destroy us. They have- have lied this entire time, in a court of, ah, law, and we must dispose of their insensitive and tarnishing e-existence." And the small boy was scurrying back, hiding behind Humanity's Council, and I was left staring at the spot he had stood in. After a moment the ringleader of the Council cleared his throat, sitting up a bit straighter.

"You heard him. Your Majesty Levi Ackerman, you have been found guilty. We will begin the extermination of your kingdom shortly."


	29. Chapter 29

Hanji's POV

 

Eren wasn't recovering. Granted, he wasn't getting worse, either, but he was still incredibly fragile and the slightest thing would trigger a panic attack. With Levi unable to help him, it was soon discovered that his sister, Mikasa, was a close substitute. I spent more time with them during the week leading up to Levi's trial than I did on my side of the mountains, and sometimes, watching carefully and perhaps taking notes as Mikasa held her brother close and rocked him gently, I could picture Levi in her place, whispering comforting words into Eren's ear and petting his hair.

The blood I had brought was about two-thirds gone by the end of the week, and while I was relieved that Eren had fed at all I was still worried for him. Freshly turned vampires, of which Eren would be considered until he'd been a vampire for at least a decade, were full of color when they were healthy. They'd be as cold as any of the rest of us, and their senses would be just as heightened, but the sunlight wouldn't hurt quite as much and the flush of their skin wouldn't leave. 

Eren, however, was as pale as the first snow of winter, and from how he shivered he may as well have been wrapped in it. Mikasa babied him, taking time off her part-time job and skipping school so that she could be constantly by his side to brush away his tears as soon as they began to fall. At times he would awake with a loud screech, and we would all once more have to tell him that Levi wasn't there, that Levi couldn't be there, and he would break down and sob for hours until he passed out from exhaustion.

Lately, though, something had changed. It wasn't related to his condition, or, at least, the thing that had changed wasn't his condition even if it might have been influenced by it. Now when Eren awoke and he called out for Levi, our explanations did not bring tears. They instead brought a brooding silence, and once I thought that I had caught a glimpse of an anger hidden in his eyes just waiting to be stoked.

We never spoke of what was happening to Levi, not even when Eren was dead to the world. When the trial finally began, the brunet was sent to his room with the excuse that he hadn't slept as much as he should've and the vague threat that we'd make him feed otherwise, and we sat silently in front of their television. While the last week had been even more valuable than a scouting mission over to this side of the mountains in terms of learning new things about Humanity, the entire time there had been a solemness leading up to this moment, so now the silence was stifling.

None of us said a word as we watched Levi and Erwin pointlessly fight back against the large network of beasts that ruled Humanity, though I suspected that the trembling of Armin's lips and chin were caused by thoughts of what would become of his best friend when he found out that Levi had been sentenced to death. I had, too, really, since the execution order had been issued to all vampires. 

Thinking back, I was wrong. His blurry eyes were not because the Vampire King would die, but because Eren was not exempt from the order. Eren, if all went according to Humanity's Council's plan, would die alongside his chosen mate, as would every vampire on both sides of the mountain.

After standing up and making my way to Eren's room without a word, and after I had checked once more that his vital signs were still stable even if his me mentality wasn't, I went home. There was no need to alert the two teenagers in the living room, so I did not wait for them to calm their shaky breaths before I warped back to the castle on the other side of the mountains. No one was running or screaming or fighting as I searched for someone who could carry a message to Erwin, and I found my own subdued manor blending in with the silent population. Sometimes I would pass by someone who was crying softly in a corner or by a wall, but never once did I find someone who spoke up. There was no hope, no reason to believe that just because of our superior skills we would win the coming war. Hell, it probably wouldn't even be a war; it would be an extermination. We were nothing last time we faced Humanity, it was what put us into such a dire position, and now no one even held the will to fight back a second time.

After getting hold of someone who could find Erwin and tell him to find me so that we could discuss what to do with Eren, I warped into my own room in the castle. I hadn't been back here since the incident with Eren believing that Levi was in Erwin's phone, but hey- if we were all going to die, I had as much of a right to see my mate as anyone else.

For the millionth time, I thought of Levi and Eren and wanted to cry.

Moblit was siting on the edge of the bed when I materialized next to him, and though he looked up at me there was no welcome. Instead I sat down next to him and slouched against his shoulder, taking a deep breath before breaking the silence of mourning. 

"Did you know that humans have created technology that can alter their DNA sequences? When I was out one night, exploring the nearby stores, I met a man who told me about it. He was reluctant at first, and the silly man told me that I was insane, but I kept asking until he caved. Nowadays, a human can press a button and change the color of their skin or hair or eyes, or increase their metabolism if they're trying to get skinnier fast." Moblit sighed, but I continued, flopping back on the bed and closing my eyes as I fought off a weary sigh of my own. "Do you think we could do it, Moblit? What if we changed our DNA codes, and made ourselves human... Do you think we could do it?"

"...I don't know, Hanji... I really don't." I laughed, though it was a sad laugh, and I felt my mate's eyes on me as I muttered out a last whisp of thought before I passed out from exhaustion and stress.

"Ya know, that's why I love living so much. The more I don't know, the more I can learn... There's still a lot of things I don't know, Moblit. What color is the blood of those mosquitoes in the wasteland? How do we know that Earth is the birth place of Humanity? Why do we exist? I don't know, Moblit, and now I fear that I never will..."

 

~~~

 

I was awoken some time later to find Erwin standing over me, and after blinking the sleep from my eyes I frowned when I realized that his eyes weren't on me because they were instead fixated on his smart phone. Erwin never bothered to keep games or accounts on social media sites, so instead of asking the obvious question about Levi's condition and execution I instead stated rather dumbly that I wanted to know what the bejeezus he was doing. He looked up at me and sent me his usual charismatic smile, and for a moment I almost believed that he had managed to find a way out of this mess in my time asleep.

"Creating another twitter account. I came to ask you to do the same." I raised an eyebrow, glancing towards where my computer lay on my bedside table before looking back at Erwin with disappointment clear on my face.

"Now, now, Erwin, as exciting as it is to learn that you've finally taken an interest in things outside of war and more war, you really have to learn timing. It's okay, seeing as this is you taking your first steps out the door, but I'll have to give you the rundown of what and when it's appropriate to access your social media. After an execution order for our entire species has been issued is really not the best time, unless you're trying to attract more sardonic followers, so try to-"

"Hanji, as much as I appreciate your efforts, the explanation isn't necessary. Now start creating new accounts, I'm already on my 43rd." I blinked, and the second after the number had registered with me I bolted upright and yanked the phone from his hand. He was filling out the information of 'Jack Orta,' and after a moment of stunned silence I handed him back his phone and reached over a sleeping Moblit to drag my laptop into my lap.

"So what's the plan, Jack Orta?" He huffed out a breath from his nose, amused but not caring enough to really focus his attention on laughing, and I opened up my own social media sites.

"In a large group of people, especially scared people, one idea becomes dominant if it's heard from multiple points in the crowd. Say, if you, Moblit, and I were in the middle of a crowd and we wanted to spread the idea that Levi needed to stop spending so much money on cleaning products, we would all boldly declare the idea from different points in the crowd. Perhaps I was in the front and you were in the back and Moblit was off on one side, and the crowd begins to think that perhaps the new idea stemming from more than one supposedly unrelated people is correct and they begin to spread it, too." I nodded slowly, having paused in what I was doing to look up at him.

"Of course. It's a simple principle, and with how impressionable human minds are it becomes simpler... But, in case you haven't noticed, we don't have a way to summon all of Humanity into a big crowd unless you lure them in with free food or Internet or- ah. I see." I turned back to my computer, deciding that my new alter ego by the name of Jenny Martin needed a tumblr. "If we spread it to enough places on the Internet, as different people that are supposedly human..."

"Then the true humans will begin to agree." I nodded to myself, a slow grin beginning to stretch across my face. "We'll get what free workers we have to do the same thing, and I've already begun monitoring responses."

"And?" There was a pause, a pause just long enough for me to look up and meet glinting blue eyes before he began answering me, a pause short enough that the page I was on had only just finished loading when I glanced up.

"And, Hanji..." He turned back to his phone, typing in the information for another false identity. "...the case was only for show. For both parties. Humanity's Council wanted to make a point while we, the accused and beaten down... We are going to start a revolution."


	30. Chapter 30

Mikasa's POV

 

When Hanji reappeared in our living room, I almost wanted to get up and throw the heavy curtains open, curtains put up to protect Eren from the glaring summer sun. The trial had taken place around noon, and even from the other side of the screen I could tell that the light was irritating the vampires present, so if I opened the window now then the room would be flooded with light. I was getting tired of living in dim lighting, though when Eren came to mind my slight annoyance wore away and shifted into pity. Eren couldn't ever see the light of day again, such a simple and commonplace thing that was now punishable by death for him. So I stood by his side in the darkness, and I did not complain.

Yet still, still I had to restrain myself from struggling to my feet, from fighting the heaviness in my body to move a mere five feet, from throwing open the curtains and blinding us all with the light we had all grown unused to. Perhaps it wouldn't even hurt Hanji much, perhaps she would simply warp away and seek shelter out of the light, but the urge to attempt to kill her was still strong. 

All week I had had to watch helpless as she took care of my brother, as she gave him sedatives and shushed him and told me she was doing the best she could, and all I could do was hold him when he cried. All I could do was attempt to try and comfort him like one would a child, and the inability to do anything more and the sheer uselessness that loomed over me the entire time overwhelmed me until I was given the urge to reach out and remove the vampire that had taken my place nursing Eren back to health.

It was pointless, pointless and stupid and without any good reason, but still I felt the grudge I harbored grow and pound at my chest and sink to my stomach at every small thing the vampire that had taken up residence here did. Every time she smiled I wanted to slap the expression off of her, every time she laughed I wanted to tear out her vocal chords just to make the sound stop, every time she acted as if everything would be alright I wanted to kick her out and pray that she got run over by a steamroller made completely of silver. Eren was going insane, my brother was going insane and had been stripped of his humanity, and from the trial shown ten minutes ago I learned that he had killed someone.

How? How, with all of those things weighing Eren down and eroding his sanity, how could someone act like it was all okay? The small amount of time I had spent in the Vampire King's presence had made me begrudgingly accept that he was who would protect and care for Eren on the other side of the mountains, and the entire time the war with Tueur was taking place I comforted myself with thoughts of how he would never let anything harm his chosen mate. 

I wasn't sure how I felt about him anymore when I found out that he had failed at this task, but after watching his trial I decided to forgive him. The fury that was evident in his eyes when Eren was talked down upon, the way he went along with everything without a fight... I knew what he was doing. I knew, because if I was in his place, I would be doing the exact same thing. So I decided to forgive him after watching him take hit after hit without complaint, deciding that anyone to take the abuse he was dealt without a word simply to keep Eren out of it was worth my respect.

However, because I could place myself in my shoes and see myself taking his own chosen path, I could also take a guess at what would come next. 

He would die.

I would sacrifice myself to keep Eren alive without a second thought, and if the burning determination revealed in the Vampire King's eyes was any indication, he would make the same choice. Perhaps I was wrong, and perhaps he wasn't that selfless, perhaps he did not care for Eren as much as I had been led to believe. Or perhaps he had not realized his own choice himself, and would not come to realize it until his execution day and he was given the chance to say his final farewells. 

That was none of my business, though. What mattered to me was that he would do whatever he could to keep his chosen mate safe, to keep my brother safe, and so long as he did that he had my loyalty over Humanity's Council. My one concern at the Vampire King's death would be how Eren would take the news, but I forced myself to believe that the loss wouldn't hit him too hard. Besides, I'd be there for him, and Armin too. We missed Eren, all of us, though Jean was more reluctant to admit to it. We hadn't told them about Eren's current condition, but since they were more than likely watching the trial I expected to hear from them eventually. 

What I had not been expecting was for Hanji to reappear, wearing a grin once more, and I felt something inside of me snap at the sight. How could she stand there and smile when Eren had been sentenced to death? When her own friends and family had been sentenced to death? When she herself had been sentenced to death? I sat stiffly, resisting the urge to tear open the curtains and watch her disintegrate, and beside me I felt Armin shift uncomfortably.

"Hanji. Um, look..." I didn't bother to glance at the blond boy as he began speaking, focusing only on keeping myself seated and away from the vampire. "I don't mean to be rude, but... Look, you probably shouldn't be here. Go say goodbye to your family. We'll do our best to keep Eren safe..."

"Oh, you silly little boy! Don't worry!" I snapped my head up to glare at her so fast my neck cracked, but I ignored it as I clenched my hands around my knees and grit my teeth, watching as the vampire laughed. "There's no reason to be upset! We've got-"

I snapped. Armin let out a useless warning yelp as I bolted to my feet and tackled the vampire, watching with a sickening pleasure as she gasped for breath beneath me. I dug my fingers into her throat, tighter and tighter until I was sure she wasn't able to breath anymore, and only then did I speak. When I did, my tone was cold and deadly, and I felt a certain level of satisfaction from watching the brunette's eyes flicked with fear. 

"Nothing? Absolutely no reason to be upset? Are you kidding me? Eren is two rooms away from us, half insane and inhuman, and there's nothing to worry about? Your entire species, including Eren, has just been sentenced to death, and there's nothing to worry about?" I jerked away from the vampire, releasing her and watching as she coughed and spluttered and looked anything but invincible as I pushed myself from the ground to look down at her. "You're despicable."

"A-ah, ye-yeah... Sounds like-" she broke off, taken over by a fit of coughing, and I felt my expression soften slightly. Sometimes I forgot what Hanji had told us, that vampires weren't quite dead, and that they still needed to breath. "Sounds like something Levi would... Levi would say. You guys..." Once more she broke down into a fit of coughs and wheezes, and I sighed, crossing my arms but letting my hostile expression fade away. 

Armin hesitated a moment more before rushing to help the brunette to the couch, where she let out a heavy sigh and closed her eyes for a moment as she recovered. Armin sent me a scolding look that I pretended to miss, and after another moment Hanji decided that she was well enough to continue where she had left off.

"Ya know, it's not incredibly nice to try to choke someone when they were about to tell you the good news! Or, kind of good news. Depends. Do you guys like Humanity's Council?" Armin and I exchanged a look before shrugging, our previous indifference towards the subject questioned by the recent order to kill Eren and his species. "Well, best you decide not to, because we're getting rid of it!"

"You're killing them?" My voice wavered with uncertainty, my previous fury and desire to hurt the vampire siting in front of us gone completely and leaving me with no desire to take another's life at all.

"Nah, that'd set us back quite a bit." She paused, scrunching up her nose as she seemed to consider how to word what she was about to say. "Okay, look- don't go spreading this around, okay? What we're about to do depends entirely on humanity's belief in us, so it'd be counterproductive to allow them to know that we've been a bit deceptive. You guys are practically part of the royal family, though, so there shouldn't be much trouble letting you guys know..."

Ignoring the last comment, my expression almost instantly turned sour. If I found out that they'd been lying to us, lying to Eren... I wasn't sure if I would stop myself from completely strangling the glasses-clad vampire next time. Seeing my expression, Hanji rushed to pull out her phone, fumbling with unlocking it and handing it to me. It was open to what I assumed was her twitter page, and after sending her a skeptical look I skimmed over the responses to what she had last posted:

'Humanity's Council is an insult to how we live! Mushroom-brained liars like them shouldn't be in charge! They've been sending us off to be bred, not because of a wish for happiness!'

I snorted at the post, understanding that she was posing as a human in it, but not believing it would do any good. While the attempt at hostility towards Humanity's Council was clear, there was also a distinct impression that the vampires were at fault too. However, as I read some of the responses, I quickly grew puzzled. They had started out with agreement, but a few comments down one stuck out: 'NO FUCKIN WAY FUCK OFF WHO THE FUCKK YOU THINK YOU ARE FUCKER?'

Armin was leaning over my shoulder to read along with me, and after what I presumed to be the moment he finished reading the message he sucked in a breath. I mimicked the action and kept scrolling down and... What? The responses seemed to change instantly. It was a full on war against who was right and who was wrong, and some of the names tossed back and forth had me raising an eyebrow. After another minute I handed the phone back to its owner, who was grinning at us devilishly.

"The whole internet's like that! It's a war between Humanity's Council's supporters and their haters, and the deeper you go the more intense it gets! People are beginning to question all the stories they were told, and a few vampires have put up websites explaining in detail their own version of history. And look!" She tapped at her phone a bit before handing it back to us, and I felt my eyes grow wide as I took in the extensive google search results for 'Eren Yeager support pages'. "The general opinion is that he's the most innocent guy here, and the petition lists to keep him alive are astounding! Levi's got some support, too, but not nearly as much as Eren and the rest of the vampires that were originally humans but were chosen as mates."

"Is this really... Can this work?" Already I was loading one of the many forums discussing my brother, but when the usually over-the-top vampire hesitated I glanced up and frowned.

"Well... Here's the part you guys have to keep hush-hush: not all of those guys on the Internet are human. We have a bunch of people creating false accounts to stir up the real humans, and while at first most people sided with Humanity's Council it's beginning to finally turn around." My brow drew tighter together as I considered the situation, trying to predict the outcome.

The relief that had originally washed over me at the thought of everyone protesting Eren's death was beginning to ebb away, and doubt was quickly taking its place. What could we do? Humanity's Council wouldn't back down just because trouble was being stirred up on the Internet, and those messages would be useless to keep Eren safe. But if Hanji was here...

"You have a larger plan." Her grin grew wider, and she clapped her hands together excitedly.

"Of course! Not all of that was us, less and less of it actually is. So here's the big deal, the whopper that you guys are in charge of: show Eren off. You're his family, for crying out loud! They gotta listen to you! Anything you say they'll believe, and you can post pictures, too! Start a blog, or I could help you put up a website that displays Eren's vitals! The point is, Eren is currently a double-edged sword- we can use him to start a rebellion and throw those monsters off their high horses, or they can kill Eren and use him to quiet everyone else down. You have to get there first, and use him to keep him and the currently forming rebellion alive." I glanced back in the direction of Eren's room, repulsed at the idea of showing him off like some kind of trophy but resigning quicker than I wanted to admit.

"Fine. Whatever I can do to keep Eren safe. But what will we be able to do, really? Humanity's Council is in charge of the army, and I will not be using Eren as a shield against bullets, even if they may not be able to kill him." Hanji's expression grew serious, and I felt something in my chest squeeze. Though I hated her constantly cheerful attitude in times like these, its disappearance meant things were much worse than I assumed.

"For that, we can do one of two things. We could either hope and pray that they all listen to the Internet rather than their commander, or we do things a bit more on the illegal side." Armin and I exchanged another glance, but said nothing. "Right now, most of their weaponry and protective gear relies heavily on technology. Honestly, most of your government does, and if that goes down..." She ended her explanation with an imitation of a bomb hitting the ground, and I sighed. 

"Can we really manage that? If the entire government would fail if a single hacker made their way in, I'm sure their defenses are too good to get past. Unless you have an army of elite hackers you haven't mentioned yet-"

"It's not hard." Both of us turned to look at Armin, who was now flushed and fiddling with his hands as he kept his gaze fixed on the ground. "I mean, um. Yeah. I'm a computer programmer, remember? A few months ago I got that job in one of the leading industries for processing all the requests that come through for repairing technology, we even do things like fixing traffic lights. And, well, hacking into the main system of the government is like a right of passage for my unit, since our job is to enforce our own security. I, uh, I was the one who made every lottery ticket buyer a winner except the actual winner them self..."

There was a heavy moment of silence before Hani's loud cackling filled the room, and Armin flinched at the sound of it but offered a weak smile when the vampire began thumping him on the back as she wiped away a false tear. Her laughter was contagious, and soon I was laughing softly, too, trying to send a reassuring look Armin's way when he sent me a betrayed one.

"Well, then! This is perfect! Why don't you contact your work buddies, and I'll help Mikasa set things up to become a revolutionary hero!" She peeled herself off of Armin and stuck her hand out, palm down, and grinned at us. "All together, then?"

Armin hesitated before sending me a half smile as he put in his own hand, resting hesitantly on top of the vampire's. They both turned to look at me, and I stared at their hands thoughtfully. By accepting this I was taking a risk, and I was throwing away the Vampire King's efforts to keep Eren as far out of this as possible, but... This risk was currently the only thing that could stand between Eren and Humanity's Council, especially with the Vampire King unable to do anything. I sighed, then added my hand to the pile.

"To save Eren... Anything."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted a one shot called Not Hell with demon!levi if any of you are interested :3


	31. Chapter 31

Eren's POV

 

The first power outage only lasted five minutes. I almost didn't even notice, half asleep and burrowed under the blankets in a futile attempt to stay warm. There wasn't much to notice, anyway, since Mikasa and Armin were kind enough to keep the apartment mostly dark, though they said nothing about it or my current condition. However, once more I was startled by my inhumanity when I was awoken by a pause in the steady hum of the air conditioning.

I lay completely still as I listened to Mikasa and Armin and a third party who was probably Hanji as they didn't pause in their movements, all three of them typing furiously at computer keyboards and letting me know that they weren't bothered by the power outage at all. I almost considered getting up, because perhaps they hadn't noticed at all, but movement was likely to make me nauseous if past experience had taught me anything, and in any case the thrum of the cooling system was back before I could convince myself otherwise.

In the other room, I heard one of them curse quietly. At the sound I screwed up my eyes and took a deep breath, doing my best to ignore the sharp smell of blood coming from the glass set aside on the bedside table for me if I ever decided I was too hungry to act human, and focused on hearing only the sounds coming from my room. The quiet rustle of blankets as I shifted, the soft sound of my breath hitting the pillow, the rumble of the heater left in my room since neither Armin nor Mikasa could put up with heating throughout the entire apartment in the middle of summer. Those were normal things to hear, human things to hear, and it was okay to hear those. If I ignored the sound of keyboards clicking coming from behind doors and walls, I could pretend that I wasn't as much of a monster as I thought.

Hanji said that I needed to stop it. She said that I was in denial, and that the longer I spent there the less likely it was that I would leave. But Hanji said a lot of things, and Levi never took any of them at face value, so why should I?

Levi.

The name made me cringe, and I forced myself away from it as I took deep breaths and counted the seconds, doing everything I could to stop the panic attack I could feel creeping up on me, doing my best not to cause trouble for anyone. The name wouldn't leave, though, appearing back in the front of my mind just when I thought I had shoved it elsewhere. The name, the face, the feeling of his cool hands threading through my hair, all previously calming factors and now anything but. He had left me, abandoned me, and no one would tell me why. It wasn't fair, wasn't fair that just because I was useless the people around me withheld what felt like such crucial information.

I became aware slowly of the fact that Le- that he had made it that way, refusing to allow anyone to grant me what should've been common knowledge. He chose me, chose me with the intentions of treating me as one would their mate, and yet he had left me when he failed at keeping me safe. It was his fault I was like this, and out of fear of failure he did nothing to change it. And then he had abandoned me without warning, without reason, and I had no reason to ever believe that he was coming back.

I hated him.

I hated him with enough passion that I felt my heart rate kick up a notch at the thought of him and his injustices, hated him enough that I felt my breath hitch and eyes prick, and then I hated him all the more because I knew that I hated hating him. Why was he so ridiculously good at his job? Why was he so good at keeping up appearances and gaining trust, at playing the good king who was so hard to hate even when the blame was clearly his? I hated him, hated him, hated-

The power was out again. I did not remain silent this time, not bothering to muffle the startled cry that was pulled from my throat as the silence that accompanied lack of electricity engulfed me and pulled me into panic. I could hear Armin saying something in the living room, but I forced my mind to blur the words as I insisted upon denying myself the right to use my vampiric abilities, instead focusing on the suddenly loud ticking of the battery-powered clock hung on the wall opposite my bed above my desk. 

Tick-Tick-Tick- my breath was loud, screams amongst a silent room- Tick-Tick- and I wondered why I was surprised that this was happening, happening to me and keeping me drowning in misery- Tick-Tick-Tick- misery that Hanji would claim was an excuse, a scapegoat so I didn't have to face the facts, and maybe- Tick-Tick-Tick-Tick- maybe it was, and maybe so was Levi, but knowing that changed nothing, and still- Tick-Tick- still my breath grew louder until it formed words to screech into the silence-Tick-Tick-Tick- silence that was broken by the door slamming open and then I was being clutched to Mikasa's chest and rocked back and forth and whispered to kindly of things I didn't deserve-Tick-Tick-Tick-Tick-

"MAKE IT STOP!" And suddenly it had, because Hanji was a monster like me and could hear the magnificently loud ticking of the clock too, and so I stared at her with wide, unblinking eyes over Mikasa's shoulder as she got down from my desk with the clock and its batteries in separate hands. She sighed and sent the clock a resentful look, as if it was its fault instead of Levi's, because it was all his fault and she just didn't know it, refused to believe me...

"Shh... Eren, it's going to be okay... It's just a power failure... It won't hurt you... I promise, nothing will hurt you..." Mikasa was so, so warm, as if under her skin she carried her own heater like the one in the corner of my room, and I understood why Levi always stayed so close to me when we were sleeping during the day and I was still human. He did it for this, for this warmth, but then someone must have removed my heater and replaced it with the air conditioning unit that had been on the side of the road because how else could I be so cold and Mikasa be so warm?

I became aware of her hand rubbing slow circles into my back before the hand had stopped, pausing as she shifted me in her arms before picking me up with a hand under my ass and the other urging me to wrap my legs around her so that it was easier for her to move me. I did as she asked and she began taking slow steps to my door, and then slow steps through the cold hallways, and then slightly faster steps into the freezing living room, and then she placed me down onto the couch with Armin and I let out a cracked and broken cry when the couch was colder than the rest of the room. Armin sent me a worried look but did not stop his hands from flying over his keyboard, and it was just as began moving to curl up at his side for warmth did Mikasa come back with the thick comforter from my bed to warp around me before she sat close on my other side so that I could leech off of both of my friend's warmths.

Slowly I felt my breathing and the heaving of my chest begin to slow down, and with it the phantom ticking of the clock that had been haunting me since the real ticking had stopped, paused in its mission to destroy what was left of my sanity. I let out a sigh of relief, and would have fallen asleep again then if the power hadn't come back on. But it had, and suddenly the hum of the air conditioning became a terrifying roar and I let out a whimper involuntarily, ignoring the hand smoothing my hair down and the whispered words trying to quiet me once more. Armin once more did not stop what he was doing, though again he glanced in my direction, and I felt a moment of betrayal before pride took its place. Why wouldn't he comfort me, why was I not as important, but-oh! Right! This is what I wanted! I wanted them to pay attention to their own lives, not the broken monster that had taken up residence in his adopted sister's apartment, so I sent a twisted smile in the blond's direction as he met my wishes and carried on with his life instead of trying to fix mine.

Before I could thank him, however, the power went back out, and Armin let out a sigh of relief before glancing over what he had been typing and setting aside his laptop. He turned slightly towards me, being careful to not disturb how I had tried to burrow into his side for warmth, and I felt a second hand start to run itself through my hair.

"It'll be okay now. The power won't be coming back on. It'll be okay." I raised my head slightly and frowned, because how did Armin know? Armin did not meet my gaze, however, and instead he looked across the room at Hanji, who was looking back at him expectantly. "I set up a few decoys and the rest of my team is working on defenses, but otherwise it's done. I kept the Internet up, obviously, and a few other things, but otherwise the entire system is down."

"Awesome-sauce! The internet's looking pretty good, too- you wouldn't believe the things people are threatening to do on Humanity's Council's webpage! The review page is getting spammed by a few hundred people demanding change or else they'll take to the streets, and one guy even said he's actually making pitchforks and will be distributing them this evening if you can find him!" What? It didn't make sense, none of this did. I looked to Mikasa for help, for guidance, but-

"We just reached two million supporters on the webpage you set up for Eren, too. People are asking to donate money and to meet Eren, ideas on how to respond? I don't want anyone getting close to him." My mind hurt from thinking about what was happening, hurt at the thought of Mikasa and Armin keeping secrets from me, but instead of saying anything I buried my face back into Armin's side and tried to block out the world around me.

It didn't work.

"Okay, here's what I was thinking! What if we set up, like, a guard for Eren? I mean there's the vampires that've been following you guys around sure, but they're three against who knows how many! And if we organize a group to patrol the building and look super cool and powerful and all that jazz, it'll show everyone that we have the ability to fight back! In battle, chaos is always a no-no, so we should start organizing ourselves while Humanity's Council is a mess." I let out another whimper, unable to block out the words spoken of battle and the sound of Mikasa nodding because who the fuck could hear someone nodding, and suddenly there were arms around me again and I melted into the embrace as if it were the only thing I had ever wanted.

"Don't worry, Eren. We're going to keep you safe. No one will hurt you." I once more found myself trying to calm heavy breathing, focusing on trying to get my breaths to match Mikasa's. She was human, she was warm, she breathed easily, copy her. Copy her and be human and leech off her warmth and slow your breathing, and maybe, just maybe, you'll be okay. You have to be okay, have to show that you're not so weak, that Levi can't do this to you so damn easily. Right? Right. You have to show the mean monster he can't play with you anymore, have to show you're not his. That's okay, right? Right. You don't desperately want him back, don't want to hide your face in the crook of his neck, don't want him to take you back and hide you away and keep you safe and alive and happy...

"And Eren... Don't worry. Levi will be coming back soon. I promise." I cried, then, because I didn't know which was the lie anymore. Didn't know which one was right and which was wrong...

Didn't want him to come for me, but oh-so-desperately wanted him back.


	32. Chapter 32

Erwin's POV

 

After the power went out, it was my turn to lead the way towards revolution. I had assigned Hanji and whoever she felt was capable to take away whatever power she could without restricting our access to the Internet, and though it took a couple tries and my own men cursed when they were cut off twice, the third time the power went out it appeared to be for good. I was only mediocre in the field of computers, so I stood back and watched as the few vampires I knew to be skilled in this area worked to get me inside the large courtroom under which Levi was being held captive.

Humanity's Council had announced that his execution would take place as soon as they had apprehended his chosen mate, claiming to be merciful in that they would allow him to die with his lover. It was ridiculous, and an idiotic move on their part, but their stupidity worked in our favor as it gave us time to work. Humanity's Council had decided that they valued torturing the Vampire King by crushing his hopes of safety for Eren over actually executing him, and we would be sure to use that to our advantage.

The current plan was to get me and a group of about ten others inside the building, impossible to do through just warping in the case of an occurrence such as this when Humanity wanted to keep us out, and as a few vampires worked to help us with things such as electronically locked doors and security cameras, we would do the physical work such as freeing Levi and guiding him out. Before we could enter, however, we had to dismantle the primary security systems, systems that Humanity's Council felt were necessary despite how dilapidated parts of the building had become.

"Estimated time remaining?" It was the fourth time I had asked the question, but I still could not help but look for the answer.

"Only a few minutes, now, sir. All processing takes slightly longer than it would normally because of the steps taken to avoid being caught. I have this computer set up to bounce around randomly and incredibly quickly on different wifi signals, among other things to decrease chances of getting caught, but this makes everything done slow down noticeably. You will be able to enter soon, though." I nodded curtly, hands behind my back as I paused in my pacing and stared unblinkingly out the window overlooking the courtyard of the palace. Or, I would've, had the curtains on said window not been drawn tightly shut.

I wasn't used to operating through the day, none of us were, but there was nothing we could do. We had to act as quickly as possible, as Humanity's Council was not idiotic enough to wait until later to work on their defense. No, we had to do this now, and so we would. I had been pacing across the length of the room anxiously for the past twenty minutes now, nervous energy forcing my hands to clench and unclench and clench again as I tried to focus on all the what-if situations and how I would handle them. More guards than expected? Shift into a bat and fly to the nearest safe area. Extra locks on Levi's cell door that weren't operated electronically like the rest of the building? Prove to the Vampire King that I did, in fact, have 'some fucking clue on how to pick a single goddamned lock'.

"Sir, we're almost ready." My attention was redirected back to the group of vampires typing at outrageous speeds, and after a moment I nodded to no one in particular and rested one hand on the hilt of my sword: with most of our weaponry being monitored by Humanity's Council, our guns were the same state-of-the-art electronically powered and hooked to the system guns as theirs, so they would be rendered useless with most of everything off.

"Good." I inhaled, shoulders squared and eyes fixed on the curtains keeping me from turning to ash. "Levi's waited long enough."

It seemed as if the following events took place with a curtain still obscuring my view, this one hazy and made from my doubt and anxiety. If this operation failed, there would no longer be any hope for bringing Levi back. And without his firm hand guiding the kingdom to live in an age so much better than the rest, none of the rest of us would be able to return either. Return to our common jobs, to our families, to the normalcy that Levi had built us in the search of his own happiness.

We had to win this one battle, or else all previous wars would become insignificant.

I kept the doubt at the front of my mind, however, despite my ability as a commander to push it to the side. The doubt would keep me from being careless, keep me from messing up, and keep me from false hope. I did not bother to clear my throat and give a pep talk, and the faces of my men told me that they understood why: despite being so hopelessly lost in his own visions of 'normal,' Levi had given us all something that we weren't sure we could live without, and we didn't want to find out.

When the final preparations were made we warped to the front of the grand courthouse, swathed in heavy robes that barely kept us safe from the blistering sun as two of my men slit the throats of the guards outside and we hurried to open the door and scurry inside to hide from the sun's light. Our footsteps echoed through the large hallways, a frantic sound fueled by fear and just the right amount of hope to keep us moving without hesitation. The first nobles we saw were too scared to do more than scream, one women collapsing back against the wall as we stormed past her, eyes wide and staring unblinkingly forward.

We did not bother silencing them with death, partially because of the rush we were in to get this done before it was too late and partially because a silent agreement between us all reminded us not to give humanity any more reasons to distrust us than it already had. Even if we got Levi back, we would stand no chance of keeping him if we lost what support we had in the process of freeing him, so our blades stayed in their scabbards as we instead pushed anyone we came across to the walls so that we could pass easily.

As we skid around the third corner, we slowed slightly, and I reached for the walkie-talkie I had kept in a pocket of my robe, hood down now to keep my peripheral vision clear. The battery-powered device had been unaffected by the tampering done to the power grid, and because it was nothing more than a mere child's toy the frequency would be impossible to pick up. Undetectable, unstoppable; I almost chuckled at the thought of how such a cheap little thing represented what we needed to be in that moment.

"Hanji, do you read me?" My voice seemed out of place after the silence we had been moving in, the crackling of the walkie-talkie easily cutting through the sound of our footsteps and heard easily by those near me. After a moment of silence, I tried again, but was once more greeted with no reply. Those close to me were beginning to worry, their footsteps uneven and their eyes betraying their fear, and after another heavy moment I took a breath and tried once more, feeling slightly defeated. "This is Commander Eyebrows to Super Techie, do you read me?"

"Super Techie to Commander Eyebrows- I read you loud and clear!" The reply had been instant, and the vampires that had become fearful bit back hysterical laughs of relief.

"Hanji, now is not the time for your games. We need you to open the gate to level 002, and disable the automatic shutters that should be open and letting sunlight in." I paused, then sighed. "We need it now, Super Techie."

"There you go! Right! Beginning sequence double-oh-two and opening the gate, darkening seven skies in five. Commander Eyebrows, you're aware we cannot keep all gates clear and all skies darkened at the same time?" Those next to me were snickering now, but I made no move to stop them, and I did not bother protesting Hanji's odd expectations. She could be a handful at times, but when we were hanging on to a thread she always came through, both with her skill and her uncanny ability to make someone smile even in dark times. Sometimes, as much as I hated to admit it, people needed something to lift their spirits and make them laugh more than they needed safety and reassurance, and it was something that the eccentric vampire knew better than anyone.

"I am aware. Everyone's in sector B now, so we should be safe if gate 001 is closed again. We should reach gate 002 in a matter of seconds." The crackling of the walkie-talkie faded for a moment before returning, half covered by the sound of gears turning and the gate ahead opening slowly. The normally automatic and smooth opening of the gate was now unsteady and broken, the program Hanji was using to open them forcing them to open backwards so that it wouldn't be overridden by the original program that opened the gate when a human was detected within three meters.

"Right! Seven skies darkened ahead, and- the wolves are leaving their dens! I repeat, the wolves are leaving their dens!" I tensed, picking up the pace slightly and responding only with a grunt to let her know that she had been heard before tucking the walkie-talkie away and hovering one hand over the hilt of my sword. Soon my men had followed my lead, either from hearing Hanji's message or from picking up the faint sound of heavy footsteps coming towards us from up ahead.

Their weapons should be rendered useless, but that didn't mean that they were completely uneffective: they could easily be carrying blades as well and the windows that Hanji had closed could be opened again at the press of a button, and though that button should be jammed it wouldn't be too hard to get the command through since most of the focus had been on getting the gate to open. There would only be a thin layer of defense on the windows, and beyond that... I felt my mouth settle into a grim line, reaching up to tug my hood back over my head.

"Prepare to meet resistance! Wound, don't kill!" There was a chorus of grunts of affirmation, and then we had clashed with the defense set up. There were probably only half as much humans as there were vampires, and after knocking out a few by slamming the butt of my sword into their head I managed to slip out past the swarm of fighting people and shift into a bat, flying close enough to the ceiling that the tips of my wings occasionally brushed against the stone there. 

Without having to lead the group of soldiers I had brought with me it was unnecessary to stay on the ground, and when the next gate approached I was able to just barely slip between the bars before falling to the floor, shifting into my humanoid form on the way there and pulling out the walkie-talkie to whisper into it.

"I've been separated from the rest of the squad. Which way is Levi's cell?" I sighed, listening to the faint crackling of the child's toy for a moment before biting out my next words. "Super Techie, come in! Which way do I go?"

"Take the left corridor and go down two flights of stairs!" I rolled my eyes at the brunette's cheery reply, gritting my teeth and thanking her before shifting back into a bat and following her directions. I didn't bother to return to the ground when I reached the main dungeon, knowing that I was out of range at this point and that I wouldn't be able to reach the vampire with the other walkie-talkie and instead flitting over the few guards' heads and turning another corner before picking up the Vampire King's scent and swerving in that direction. I dropped down to the ground on human legs once I had found his cell, watching as the shorter vampire slowly opened his eyes to regard me with an irritated look on his face. 

He was leaning back against the back wall of the cell, arms crossed, and as he met my eyes he tilted his head upwards in an act of arrogance and contempt. The familiar expression brought a warm smile to my face, one that I didn't bother to cover as I let him know silently that I was relieved that he hadn't given up hope just yet. He scowled, pushing himself off the back wall and taking measured steps towards me before stopping about a foot behind the rusted iron bars of the cell. Once more he cocked his head backwards just slightly in a silent act of defiance, but this time I was close enough to pick up the look of relief in the back of the black haired vampire's eyes.

"You're late, fuckface." I hummed shortly in answer, looking down at the battery powered watch I had brought to make sure that Hanji's team would have the door unlocked before reaching forward and easily flipping the latch that was supposed to keep the cell locked electronically. 

"There was a bit of trouble with some guards a couple floors above us." I pulled the cell door open, resisting the urge to flinch at the heavy feeling it pressed on me as I realized it was made of that same damned metal that stopped us from warping. Levi stepped out of the cell with a grimace on his face, glaring down at the dirt on the ground as if it had personally offended him before relaxing slightly at the feeling of being almost free. He looked up at me expectantly, and I sent him a smug smile, clapping him on the back and simultaneously knocking the wind out of a guard that had been trying to sneak up on me with my other hand as I started to guide the Vampire King out of the dungeon. 

"Let's go see about reuniting you with your mate, shall we?"


	33. Chapter 33

Levi's POV

 

The half of the escape plan I took part in went surprisingly well, save for the frantic and irritating sound of a certain Shitty Glasses yelling through a walkie-talkie and demanding to know if 'item 004 bitch face had been secured'. Erwin chuckled silently and led me down a hallway lined with his men and the corpses of human soldiers as I sent the child's toy a glare and did my best to live up to her shitty joke, and without a glance spared to those who had risked their lives to save me I quickened my pace to follow Erwin through gates and around corners, eyes set firmly straight ahead.

I did not want to think about what awaited me, didn't want to think of not making it, either. There was no safe way to look without being reminded in some way of him, of the brat I had taken as a mate and somehow along the way gotten turned into a monster like me. The flickering iridescent lights above us, some completely dead and others dying as Humanity's Council didn't bother to keep up with appearances in a dungeon, were reminders of his sanity, weak and easily shattered and by now... Maybe gone completely. The grimy walls were reminders of his position, forced to be a wicked creature when at one point in time he was new and socially accepted and the way he should be...

I didn't dare ask the one question I needed an answer to, instead pestering the brunette directing us to the surface and to safety about the current condition of Humanity. I learned that most had reacted how Erwin and I had wanted them to after watching my trial, the one phone call I had been allowed used to set up a simple plan that seemed to have worked before I had exchanged my last words with Eren. My last words...

No. 

I was going to him now, sheltered by Erwin's shadow as he pulled on his hood and pushed open the great doors to the outside world. I warped the moment I was completely outside of the confining walls of the courthouse, though something told me that my destination was different from everyone else's as they returned to my castle. And yet... I couldn't go to him yet. Not yet... 

There was an old tunnel that went through the mountains separating my race with Humanity, one that at one point in time belonged to a young man on a search for riches to fuel his dreams and provide funds for his younger sister's heart transplant. He never did find anything worth more than a single copper, however, nor would he ever had. Humanity's Council discovered the tunnel he had made and fenced off the entrance, a supposedly electric fence for Humanity's safety that had never been turned on.

It had happened so long ago, long enough that I had been nothing but a child, only recently thrown onto the streets to see if I could survive. I had thrived there, and could afford to spend time not frantically searching for something to feed on, and so I did. I would spend days exploring, looking for something that even I wasn't sure existed, until one day I found it: a connection.

I had stumbled upon the tunnel when the young man who had dug it had only just finished it, and as he hacked away at the walls to make them wider with a stolen pickaxe, the only out-of-date tool that he could use without being immediately detected by Humanity's Council, I watched him from the shadows. Sometimes he would feel my eyes on him, quiet and unmoving, and he would turn around and stare at me, meeting my eyes and saying nothing. There would be a prolonged moment of stiff silence before he would bow just slightly, aware of a vampire's supposed status though I was just a child, and then he would turn back around and keep working, trying desperately to find something, anything, before he was discovered and taken away.

I was there the day that they found him, too, and I watched without doing anything as his eyes met mine for the final time before he was carried off. He had looked so helpless, pleading without words for me to do anything, anything at all, yet I had done nothing. I had simply stood and stared, and even once the tunnel was empty again I did not move.

That tunnel became my refuge, my reminder of many things, and when I needed to think it was my go-to place. I had never touched his pickaxe from where it had been thrown to the ground, and I never wasted my time looking for something worth money in the tunnel. There was no need to, after all, because what the young man had been after all that time had been right in front of his face, had he bothered to follow my silent clues and stay after dark.

He never did though, never understanding when I stepped out completely into the open so that he could look at me whenever he seemed about ready to give up, eyes questioning as I gave him his clue: "Stay the night, won't you?"

He must have thought that I was either lonely or insane, however, and perhaps I was, because he never did stay after the sun had set. He never got to see how the entire tunnel shone and glowed, lit up by the precious stone that looked like any other by day and was my kingdom's treasure by night. We called them moon jewels, though it was also common for them to be referred to as moon tears for the way they shone softly like drops of water. They were extraordinarily rare but beautiful, and to find one on Humanity's side of the mountains was near impossible, and yet somehow this one man had managed to find a tunnel laden with them that connected our two worlds.

I never spoke a word of it, but the day after the young man was executed for whatever illegal actions Humanity's Council had come up with his family found their bank account to be suddenly very full, and a single stone was missing from the tunnel.

The tunnel was not shimmering and beautiful right now, not a single clue given to guess on the true worth of all the plain looking stone, but as I walked with slow steps down the narrow opening towards Humanity's side of the mountains I looked at the walls as if they were alive. I always had, fascinated by how such a small thing could give me a connection between my world and Humanity's. Sometimes I let my mind entertain the childish notion that the way it lit up at night signified our beauty, the worth of a monster, but the thought was always banished in the end when I reached the barbed fence stopping curious humans from finding themselves in the land of vampires.

It was an even smaller thing than the tunnel itself, but though it was never turned on its significance never evaded me: connections as these should not exist. It was why humans who stayed with their mates became vampires, it was why our races did not easily intermingle. Even when two of us fell in love, we could not keep such a connection open, and we were pushed into a single race instead of two. 

I could not completely approach the fence now, the sunlight slanted into the tunnel and stopping me from taking a single step further to grasp at the barbed wire and look at Humanity's world as I so often did. Somewhere out there was Eren, more proof that my race had no right to lay our hands on humans, and yet still I wanted to be with him. More than anything else I needed to see him, needed to reassure myself that I hadn't ruined him completely, that perhaps eventually he would get better. I wanted to tell myself that if he got better I wouldn't ever touch him again, for fear that I would cause his mental collapse once more, but it was a promise I couldn't bring myself to make.

I wouldn't be able to keep it, not by a long shot, so what was the point?

I sighed, finding my mind and heart heavy with unspoken words. How did I apologize to him when I saw him? Would it even be enough? Time after time he had dismissed the promises we had made on his first day here, enclosed in a bathroom that smelled foul from when Eren had puked, and yet still I found myself leaning heavily on what was said there. I did not apologize then, yet he still forgave me... The thought gave me hope, but I told myself not to let it go to my head- there was no telling how he felt about me now.

When my call with him had been cut short, did he think I had abandoned him? Did he yell and scream and cry? Were Hanji and Erwin enough to calm him down?

Did he want me there beside him, comforting him, or did he want me to never return?

I ran a hand through my hair, relaxing my shoulders and feeling them drop as the tension that had kept them set vanished and I was left looking lost and unsure. I had no way of knowing how I would be greeted when I showed up in front of Eren, and no way of knowing if he wanted me there at all. For all I know I would be pushed away and banished from his side, and for as much as I wished for that to never come true I knew that if he asked me to I would listen.

Somewhere along the line, between searching desperately for happiness and normalcy, my vision of happiness changed. It no longer was the picture of a family around a fireplace, warm and happy and laughing as they ate human foods and watched human movies and their hearts beat normally, it no longer was human at all. Instead I thought of Eren, grinning at me and laughing at me and scolding me, tucking me under his arm while we slept and showing me a sunrise though it was something I was never meant to see.

Somewhere along the line, my happiness became linked to him.

That was my final thought before I gave in, caving to the ever present desire to go to him and simply take whatever reaction he had at my appearance and go with it. There was a chance he would want to see me, after all, and if that was the case then who was I to deny him that? Nobody, and definitely not anybody as I smiled at the thought, the first happy expression that had graced my features since the last time I had seen him.

I turned, staring at the wall beside me before turning even further and staring at the forgotten pickaxe, lying unused on the floor of the tunnel and filthy with dirt and dust. Against my better judgement I found myself walking over to it and picking it up gingerly, unsure of how to hold it to get the results I wanted and still keep myself clean. After struggling for a moment I gave up, gripping the tool tightly in one hand before swinging it down on the cavern wall in front of me. The clanging sound resonated throughout the tunnel for many moments after, and I huffed with frustration when nothing came off. 

Again and again I tried, bringing the pickaxe down upon the secret stone until cracks in the rock began to appear, again and again I tried to produce something worthy of being offered to Eren as both an apology and a peace treaty. A lingering presence in the back of my mind made me feel as if I was a child again, watching from the shadows as the man who never even knew my name tried desperately to procure something for his family when all the while what he wanted was being tossed aside in ignorance. I wondered if he had died thinking that his family wouldn't be able to afford his sister's life, if he had died without ever realizing that I had been trying to give him the hint he needed, if he had died hating me.

Soon I had countless shards of precious stone by my feet, and as I bent down to collect them all the ringing sound of metal on stone never left my ears. I was sweating, too, pulse high and demanding that I feed soon before I pass out. I clicked my tongue, irritated that something such as that had to come between Eren and I now, but there was no way I would show up half dead and hope I didn't scare him, so I ended up warping back to my castle and feeding quickly before finding a basket and warping back to the tunnel, carefully placing each moon jewel into the basket before covering the top of the basket with a cloth and taking a deep breath.

It was now or never.

I only released my breath once I found my surroundings to be the living room of Eren's apartment, but once there I found myself at a loss for words. Hanji and a blond boy I recognized as Armin were typing away on computers, so concentrated on what they were doing that they looked near constipated, and Mikasa was on the couch with Eren, leaning together and watching something on the female's computer. The music from their movie was the only sound in the apartment outside of the constant tapping of keys, and for a long moment it stayed that way.

"Levi!" I started at the voice, turning to scowl at the vampire who had caught my scent and was now looking at me with an amused glint in her eye. "You're late! I expected you to show up half an hour ago!"

"Shut up, bat shit." She grinned as I tried to keep my anxious feelings from surfacing, but when I was unable to resist glancing at Eren again I knew I had failed. I froze once more at the sight of him, though this time I wasn't the only one: Caribbean eyes were fixed on me, dozens of emotions flickering behind them so fast I wasn't able to pick up on a single one of them. "Eren..."

The word seemed to break something inside of the boy, and I stiffened as he broke down into tears. From the corner of my eye I saw Hanji motioning wildly for me to go to him, but for a long moment I was unable to move at all. Mikasa watched me calculatingly as she ran her fingers through Eren's hair, and I finally forced myself to move when she raised an eyebrow at me, challenging me to prove that I deserved to be here.

"Eren..." Once more it was all I could say, though now I found myself moving towards him, sitting down on the edge of the couch on his other side and watching for any discomfort I may have caused. "I... Are you okay?"

A pause.

"I-I don't... I don't know..." His words were whispered and weak, shaking as if the very effort of replying to me was too much. I felt my expression soften, and I placed a hesitant hand on his shoulder, relived when he didn't pull away. There wasn't anything I could say to him to make this better, but...

"Eren... Eren, look at me." Slowly, oh so very slowly, his head turned from where it had been buried in Mikasa's shoulder and he met my eyes, looking terrified. "It's okay Eren... It's going to be okay... I... I brought you something. A gift. Is that... Is that okay?"

He remained silent for a moment before looking up at Mikasa, who nodded after a moment, eyes locked on me. Slowly Eren sat up, still clinging to his sister, and I wet my lips before I stood up. I flipped the cloth from on top of the basket and slowly began to place the fragments of stone around the room, ignoring Hanji's questioning eyes and the sudden heavy silence telling me that everyone had stopped to watch me. It felt almost wrong allowing others to see, showing someone the secret of my tunnel even though it wasn't ever mine and we weren't even close to it, but if it was for Eren...

"I need to turn off the lights now. Is that alright?" Eren nodded slowly, confusion taking place of most of the fear in his eyes, and I nodded to myself before turning off the few battery powered lamps and lanterns that were on in the room and sending us into a darkness that Eren's eyes shone through easily as he sought a reason for my behavior.

I stood still, waiting for the creeping lights in the stones to become brighter, and soon the pressure of Eren's eyes on me vanished as he took in a breath at the sight around him: fragments of glowing light, tears torn from the moon itself, no stone polished or perfect but all beautiful and somehow sad. After a long moment Eren stood up, taking slow steps towards the stone closest to him where it rested on one of the bookshelves in the room, and after glancing back at me for permission he picked it up and held it gingerly between two fingers.

"What... What are they?" I could practically feel the pressure of Hanji trying not to tell Eren herself, bursting with the need to explain what this rare jewel was, but she stayed silent and allowed me to move closer to Eren and explain it myself.

"Moon jewels, or moon tears. I thought you might like them." I hesitated, mesmerized by the blue glow cast onto my chosen mate's face, then took another step towards him so that we were separated by only a few feet. "Do you... Are they okay?"

The taller vampire yanked his gaze away from the jewel in his hand to meet my eyes, focusing in on me though there were so many other things to look at in the room lit up faintly by the glowing of the stone. His eyes gave nothing away for a moment, two moments, three- and then somewhere inside of him a dam burst and he was crying again, silently this time, and I cringed. Before I could move away, however, Eren managed to smile, and the expression, though twisted by his effort to keep his tears from overflowing, kept me rooted to the spot.

Somehow I felt as if he was forgiving me, then, though I hadn't apologized, and I almost felt like crying myself. The relief that swept through me was so strong, too strong, but I didn't move, and neither did the brunet in front of me. There was no emotional embrace, no abusive words thrown at me, no nothing...

Nothing save for that small twisted smile that matched my own, telling me that it was okay.


	34. Chapter 34

Levi's POV

 

"Where on this good earth did you find so much of it?" I scowled, turning away from the source of the irritating voice and focusing on the quiet buzz of Humanity's night life. "I mean, sure, I could see you and your smitten little heart going out and blowing the kingdom's savings on a piece or two for the kid, but I don't think there's enough money in the world to buy all that stone!"

I sighed, running a hand through my hair and avoiding looking anywhere in the general direction of the female vampire. We were standing outside of Eren's apartment, outside of prying ears, and some part of the back of my mind wondered if I could skip this conversation by going back inside to check on the brunet. The gaze pinning me to the spot now told me that that wasn't an option, however, so I chose to simply ignore the pressing subject in favor of muttering out a protest at her offhand comment.

"I'm not smitten, Glasses." She snorted, clearly not amused, and I shifted my gaze to stare distastefully at the peeling paint on the railing enclosing the walkway between apartments.

"Whatever you say, Levi. Though I'm not sure why you'd act like a sugar daddy otherwise." I shot her a glare, not pleased at her choice of words but choosing not to pick up on the tease she had thrown at me. It was easily deniable, sure, but she was aware of the fact, and her and her damn brain decided it would be fan-fucking-tastic if she got me to reveal where it was that I got so many moon tears by my own volition.

I refused to give her the pleasure of hearing me say it myself, however, that I knew about something that no one else did. In an entire kingdom I ruled it was perhaps the single place that was really mine, a secret that I wasn't quite ready to share just yet. A nagging in the back of my mind told me that I had already half exposed the secret by giving so many precious stones to my chosen mate, but I chose to ignore that thought.

We stood in silence for many minutes after that, the eccentric vampire's curiosity not satisfied but set aside for now, and I let out a breath in the form of a soft hum as I slumped back against the wall behind me. The quite hum of the city, dark save for the rare window lit with a battery powered light, was soothing in a way I wouldn't have guessed, and I absently wondered if it was because the surroundings reminded me of a certain brunet or simply because the stillness was so different from the constant struggles I had been going through lately.

Erwin had updated me on the state of my kingdom when he had warped here briefly to make sure I had gotten to Eren alright, and I was relieved to hear that the last members of Tueur had been weeded out and executed. At my trial the pressing weight of silent and suppressed anger became evident on our side of the mountains, and while the possibility of civilians doing something rash was likely I forced the thought from my mind for the moment. I needed a moment just to be content, to close my eyes and hum a short, quiet note when I thought back on how Eren looked lit up by the moon tears, to open my eyes again and angle my head up slightly to stare up at the sliver of moon in the sky and wonder if perhaps I had been mining from the moon directly.

They were childish thoughts, unnecessary and useless, but I found myself thinking them anyway, and I didn't want to stop thinking them. If I stopped thinking up worthless daydreams then I would be forced back into thinking about the rebellion we had started, would be forced to think about what was going to happen. There were so many ways that it could go, but it all depended on how Humanity and its Council of Fucktards reacted, so there was nothing that I could for now besides wait impatiently for them to make their move.

"You're going to get wrinkles if you keep doing that." I turned my head to look at my companion, irritated that I had been dragged from my train of thought but not bothering to shut her up either. "Whenever you think about something you hate you bunch up your eyebrows, and you'll end up with wrinkles and then you'll never be able to woo Eren!"

"That's not the point, batshit. It never was." The brunette cocked her head and made a sound that seemed to be a cross between a hum and an exasperated sigh, turning to face towards the city again before continuing.

"And yet you rush to his side whenever there's a hint of danger... Careful, or else people will start thinking you have feelings." I snorted, masking my own turmoil over her words with dull amusement. It was true I cared for the kid, why wouldn't I? He was my hope for happiness, and everyone who knew me knew that. The kid knew it himself, too, but you didn't see him making a fuss about it.

Then again, you didn't see him doing much of anything, these days....

I sighed, reaching up to run a hand through my hair and following the young man passing in front of me with my eyes. He was tall and lanky, unable to do anything if Humanity's Council sent men over here to capture Eren and I, but his expression was set with determination. He wasn't the only one to have volunteered to be part of the makeshift army that had been assembled in my absence, and I was surprised to find that there were a good deal of people that were passionate enough about standing up for Eren that they wanted to help us.

Mikasa had apparently gathered them all in a nearby park, leading them to this apartment complex only when she was sure that she wasn't being followed by Humanity's Council. I said nothing to her or the people patrolling the building about the uselessness of their actions, not so heartless to reveal to them that it would be easier than they assumed for Humanity's Council to find Eren and break in. It was the thought that counted, in this case, though I wasn't one to let such actions warm my almost-dead heart. No, these actions were part of something larger, showing others that they could stand up to Humanity's Council and that they had every right to do so. It was idiotic and near pointless, but for this rebellion to get anywhere it was necessary.

I broke away from my musings when the door I stood next to opened slowly, turning my head and raising an eyebrow at the head of brown hair and Caribbean eyes that peered out at me. On my other side Hanji was immediately at attention, ready to perform surgery or set up another IV drip if necessary. It wasn't pleasant to think about, but given the kid's current mental state it was highly possible that that would be how this ended...

"Mikasa went to the store." My questioning expression didn't change at his words, voice soft and hesitant as if he was breaking some sort of rule by seeking me out.

"What of it?" He hesitated, looking uncomfortable as he shifted his weight from foot to foot.

"Armin went back to his own apartment for the night..." I glanced at Hanji, curious to know if she knew what my chosen mate was trying to get at, but she seemed to be just as confused as I was. We stood in silence for another few moments as the quiet became slowly more tense between us, Eren unwilling to outright ask for what he wanted. It was only after the young man who was patrolling this floor passed by us again, nodding his head at Eren with a look of pure devotion on his face, that Eren sighed and gave in, speaking to the ground in a voice that was cracked and barely audible. "I hate waking up alone..."

"Oh." It was all I could say, in that moment, though from the noises Hanji was making she certainly had her thoughts about the exchange between us, and at the single syllable I frowned as my chosen mate flinched. There was another tense silence before I sighed, pushing myself off the wall and looking at Eren expectantly. "Get inside, then. Or do you plan on sleeping in the doorway?"

He flushed red with embarrassment at my jab, and though I caught the warning look the eccentric vampire with me had sent my way I wouldn't take back my comment. It was a fallback way of speaking for me, and though I was aware that it was important to be delicate with Eren until his sanity had been stabilized it was difficult to stop the terse responses when I had been caught off guard.

The brunet nodded, more so to himself than to me, and then I was following him inside, hesitating when he passed through the door into his room before following his lead. He made an immediate dive for his bed, obviously still embarrassed and feeling a bit guilty for his request, but I took a moment to look around at my surroundings before joining him. I hadn't been into my chosen mate's room yet, not wanting to set him off accidentally by entering somewhere private when I hadn't been invited, so the band posters on the wall and the collection of pointless bobbles on an old desk were all new to me. I wrinkled my nose at the amount of dirty laundry scattered around the room and the dust collecting on most of the flat surfaces in the room, but the action was used to mask a sudden pang in my chest at how normal it all looked. 

I hesitated for a moment longer before taking off my boots and placing them neatly by the door and slipping into bed next to my chosen mate, silently pressing close and letting him wrap an arm around my chest in a sort of tacit promise that carried through his recent turning. It was slightly painful thinking about how alive this grey room must have been at one time, home to a normal teenager doing normal human things before being taken away from his life. I had seen an unfinished worksheet on the desk, and the thought of him expecting to be able to come home after his 18th Ceremony brought an unfamiliar feeling that left an uncomfortable tightness in my chest.

"Oi, brat..." He said nothing, only shifting slightly to let me know that he had heard my words. I didn't bother to turn to face him, not wanting to watch his expression when he answered my question, but I moved one of my hands to lie lightly over the brunet's where it hung limp over my chest. "Did you hate me for choosing you that night?"

He flinched, though whether the action was caused by my feather-light touch or my words I was unsure. For a long time it seemed that my question would go unanswered, and I wondered idly if he had fallen asleep. I doubted I would be able to get much rest, as I was accustomed to sleeping during the day and would usually be up and about right now, but if the kid needed to be awake with his friends to get better then I'd simply have to adapt.

"No." The word, though soft and quiet, caught me off guard, and a part of me wanted to ask why it had taken him so long to answer. Perhaps I would have, too, had it not been for his next words: "I hate you for leaving me, though...."

My breath caught in my throat at the words, words that caused my chosen mate to curl his fist into a tight ball against my chest, and I felt myself stiffen. I hadn't wanted to leave him, but I knew that as much as I argued that nothing would change. I had left him, left him when he needed me most, and there was a good chance that my temporary disappearance from his life worsened his mental health.

"I know, kid... I know..." The words felt odd in my mouth, sounding so different to my ears than the usual indignant reply that I would've used. "I'm sorry."

"Don't..." He stopped himself, shifting uncomfortably behind me, and I knew what he was going to say. He wanted to tell me not to be sorry, that it was okay, but he couldn't. He couldn't and I knew that, and it was okay. Instead we lay in silence for a long time, long enough for sleep to begin pulling at my eyelids, and long enough that Eren relaxed and unfurled his hand from a fist over my chest and long enough for me to slip my fingers between his and squeeze his hand lightly. Though, in the end, it became too long, and Eren spoke up one last time, just as hesitant to speak now as he had been. "Will you... You'll be there when I wake up?" My expression softened, though he couldn't see it, and I let out a sigh as I relaxed and leaned back into the brunet.

"Of course, idiot..."


	35. Chapter 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Levi back from improsonment, Eren struggles to place his current feelings. Lingering resentment from being abandoned mingles with the constant need to be comforted, and somehow it seems that Eren's sanity may never take a turn for the better.

Eren's POV

Waking up next to Levi was... Familiar. My pride and the bitter aftertaste of hating him kept me from thinking that it was nice, but I wouldn't deny that waking up with a clean smelling head of raven hair in my face kept me in bed for a while longer just to soak in the scene that used to be commonplace for me. It didn't matter that the surroundings were different, or that I wasn't able to see his face and was instead curled against his back, it didn't matter that I could hear Mikasa and Hanji in the kitchen. It was the same scene I had woken up to back at the Vampire King's palace, and somewhere along the line it had become the same scene I expected to wake up to. I didn't understand why it took such a small amount of time for me to adjust and grow accustomed to those circumstances, and part of me believed that I'd never know, so I did my best to simply sigh and ignore it. 

Sometime in the night Levi's hand had fallen off of mine, and mine lay limp over him as I slowly released the tight grip I had subconsciously taken on his shirt. I was unsure as to what exactly I wanted to do now, torn between laying in bed with the shorter vampire and getting up to investigate the pancake smell coming from the kitchen. I had refused to give up eating human foods, even as I knew it was unnecessary, and though I had overheard Hanji scolding Mikasa for encouraging my prolonged denial she had ignored the vampire in favor of spoiling me with lavish meals made from all my favorite foods. It was nice, human, and it gave me a sense if security I refused to think of as false.

It gave me a way to ignore the growing hunger I felt, a way to convince Hanji that I was feeding when most of the blood she had given me was poured down the drain or flushed down the toilet.

In the end, the enticing smell of breakfast won out when bacon joined the mix, and I started to sit up slowly, careful to avoid waking up the Vampire King. He looked exhausted, worn out from the events of the past week, and I didn't want to wake him up if he truly hadn't gotten much sleep during the mess I only half understood. I didn't want to force him to stay awake during the day, anyway, both for the reasons of avoiding hearing him grumble about the light that came with day and for the ability to avoid being around him until I was able to sort out whether I wanted to be around him or not.

I had been so sure I hated him, so sure I never wanted to see him again, but when he showed up yesterday... I hadn't been sure if I was crying tears of fear and anger or of relief. He had come back to me, had come back for me, and the intense waves of emotions that had washed over me at his arrival had been too much for me to decipher. And the moon tears... They really had seemed to be sad, dozens of broken tears scattered around the room and casing a blue-toned light on Levi's pale skin and creating a setting that felt oddly intimate even with others in the room.

I sighed, running a hand through my already mused hair as I dragged myself out of bed. It was only as I was opening the door to the hallway leading towards the small kitchen and living room did I notice the hum of electricity had returned, filling the previously silent air and warning me a split second before I was sent to the floor with the shock of the lights that were on outside my room. At my yelp there was some scrambling heard from the other room before the florescent kitchen lights that spilled into the hallway were shut off, and I sighed with relief as I rubbed at my eyes to try and rid them of the afterimage of the bright light.

It hadn't really hurt me, exactly, but the shock and immediate irritation I felt everywhere was not comforting considering I had been on my way to the kitchen to eat human food in my everyday quest to somehow magically become human once more. To my surprise, it was Levi that reached me first, startling me as my eyes had been squinted in the direction of where Mikasa and Hanji were rushing towards me. The hand he placed on my arm was comfortingly cool compared to the warmth that had momentarily washed over me with the light, and as I leaned into the touch I wondered absently when, though I was still always so cold, I had become sensitive to true warmth.

"Oi!" I was jerked from my musings as Levi reached his other hand up to jerk my head to look at him, and I was put under the impression from his widened eyes and unfixed bed head that gave him a slightly crazed look that he had been trying to get my attention for at least a few seconds now and I had been unresponsive.

"I'm fine..." Mikasa was at my side too, now, hovering over me as if unsure whether it would be okay to touch me or not with Hanji lurking in the background with what looked suspiciously like a syringe. "It didn't really hurt it just..." I trailed off, looking to Levi for help. His expression softened as he squeezed my arm lightly, and he sighed as he nodded.

"I get it, kid." He hesitated before removing his hand, falling back to lean against the doorway. He looked exhausted, but when he caught my gaze lingering on the darker than usual bags under his eyes he turned his head away. It was at that moment that Mikasa finally spoke up, her voice laced with concern and effectively moving my attention away from the shorter vampire.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I nodded, plastering a smile onto my face when she didn't let up and letting it fall the moment she seemed appeased with my insistence of being unharmed. I felt Levi's gaze following me closely, but I chose to ignore the feeling of being scrutinized in favor of struggling to stand on shaky legs and waving Mikasa off when she rushed to help me.

"I can walk." The words were clipped, though the annoyance I felt was more so directed at myself than at my sister. It was truly pitiful, wasn't it? Vampires, monsters said to be invincible and immortal with only a few known weaknesses, reduced to a quivering mess from a moment of being in fabricated light. It was pitiful, I was pitiful, hadn't Levi been able to watch the sun rise? Yet here I was, unable to walk into the kitchen...

I let out an angry cry as my legs gave out, sending me hurtling back to the floor though Mikasa caught me before I could break my nose or something else along those lines. I would, too, wouldn't I? Unable to walk, unable to be human, unable to keep myself unharmed without assistance...

I pushed Mikasa away, grunting when I caught myself before face planting, and suddenly even being a proper vampire didn't sound quite as bad. I wasn't even that, though, was I? If I was, couldn't I make it through this? It wasn't fair, wasn't fair, wasn't-

No. I needed to stop this now, needed to stop...

It was too late, and I knew it. I was already hyperventilating, already my vision was becoming blurry with tears, already my hands felt slick with sweat and my heart felt like it was beating too fast. The part of my mind that was still awake, still able to think, laughed at me, laughed and laughed and laughed...

I screamed when I felt cold hands wrap around my shoulders, screamed from the surprise and the fear, but the hands didn't leave, not even as I tried to tear myself away. Instead I found myself being pulled backwards, pressed against a familiar chest and the hands that held my shoulders moving so that arms wrapped loosely around my waist. I felt the muted vibrations of words from the chest I leaned against, but I was unable to hear anything but my own scream, and slowly that went away too. It was just me, just me and my stupidly heavy breathing and my worthless heart beat and the arms that were slowly wrapping tighter and tighter around me.

I wanted the arms to go away.

Somehow I was aware of myself squirming, kicking and screaming in an effort to escape, because who was I kidding? I knew who it was, knew who was holding me so close, and I didn't want it, not now, not before I figured out if I wanted him close or not...

"Oi! Eren! Eren, it's okay!" Why? Why could I hear his voice and not my own? It wasn't fair, I didn't want his voice, didn't want-

I went limp, exhausted and angry and terrified and unable to do anything about it, and the tight grip the Vampire King had been keeping on me lightened slightly as he carefully turned me around so that I was facing him instead of the nothingness where Mikasa and Hanji were supposed to be. I hated that I could see him, hear him, feel him, because why did it have to be him? He was supposed to be asleep right now, he was supposed to let me avoid him, but here he was, eyes searching my expression for an answer as he asked me again and again if I needed to go back to bed, needed to sleep.

Didn't Hanji say that this was his fault? That if he hadn't done this, hadn't just calmed me down and kept it a secret, maybe I wouldn't be so bad? Maybe I wouldn't feel so sick and powerless against my own mind, maybe I could be normal? Wasn't that what he wanted, anyway? Normal? I wanted to be normal, too...

Somewhere, beneath all the anger and fear, I wanted to cry of relief instead of worthlessness. He was here again, here with me, and even though I wanted to hate it I couldn't do anything but lean forward and hide my head in the crook of his neck and cry into the pale skin there, comforting in its familiarity. One hand came up to stoke my hair, the other rubbing slow circles into my back, and slowly, slowly, my sobs began to fade to hiccuping breaths and shuddering sighs. 

"It's going to be okay, Eren, I'm here, you're going to be okay, everything will be okay..." The words were limitless, hushed whispers brushing against my ear as he continued to play with my hair and promising me that I would be okay, we would be okay. I wanted to believe them, wanted to believe the whispers, would it be wrong if I did?

I could hear Mikasa now, too, though she wasn't next to me. She was far away, arguing with Hanji about the syringe she had brought with her, telling her I was going to be okay, that she wouldn't allow it. Somehow I knew what she was referring to, and I pressed myself closer to the shorter body I had awkwardly sought refuge in at the thought of being sedated because I had been unable to suppress another breakdown.

"-needs to be put back in bed if this goes on, I'm just saying it's the most logical point of view here, so-"

"Oi, Glasses, shut up." It was Levi who spoke up then, breaking his constant stream of whispered promises to speak up louder and silence the brunette's plea to inject me with who-knows-what, and I wasn't sure if I loved or hated the interruption. "Eren, are you okay?" The words were meant for me again, lower and softer and kinder, and I shuddered at the sound of them.

Was I okay? I didn't know, but I couldn't hear my heartbeat anymore, only the quieter rhythm of the Vampire King's heart, and I wasn't crying anymore, my face being moved from its hiding spot so that I was forced to look the older vampire in the eyes as he wiped away the last wet spots on my cheeks with calloused thumbs, so somehow I think I was. I had to be, had to be okay, Levi was busy and had to fix the mess I had somehow started, he had to fix it, so I had to be okay for him...

I nodded, and Levi let out a sigh of relief, still looking at me as he called out to the two others that were watching us now.

"He's okay. He's okay..." There was another awkward moment of silence before the raven haired vampire shifted underneath me, slowly removing me from on top of him so that he could begin to stand. He hesitated before helping me stand, too, and though I wanted to push him away I let him bring me to my feet before stepping away from him and looking at the ground.

I hadn't wanted this to happen, I had wanted to stay myself, yet I had broken down and fallen apart and once more I had let Levi pull the pieces together again. I was so mad with myself, furious that I had let him, because one of these days I would lash out and hurt him and he would miss some pieces as he tried to put me back together. I was terrified...

"Eren?" I looked up at Mikasa, silently pleading for her to take me away from the Vampire King, and her gaze softened as she looked me over carefully before offering me her hand. "Let's go eat breakfast, okay?"

I sniffed, rubbing at my eyes, and after hesitating a moment longer and resisting the urge to look back and meet the silver eyes I felt on me I nodded and took the offered hand. Her grip on my hand was delicate, as if scared she'd set me off again, and I sighed. I really was breakable, wasn't I? But I would be okay now, had to be okay now...

"Levi..." The hallway we all had clustered into seemed to freeze, and I finally looked back to meet my mate's eyes. "...go back to sleep."

There was a long pause before he nodded slowly, looking almost sad, and by unspoken wishes he warped away. It didn't matter where he had gone, though I assumed he had returned to his palace, and though I felt Hanji's questioning gaze on me I turned back to Mikasa and sent her a weak smile. She returned the gesture before tugging me gently into the kitchen, where I was pushed into a chair and given a plate laden with food and a bottle of syrup with a look that told me I was allowed to go overboard.

Armin arrived soon after, and after getting a call Hanji left, and I was allowed to be comforted by only my closest friends as they set me up in the living room with a tub of ice cream and a pile of old Disney movies. It was nice, this kind of quiet comforting, and I wondered absently when it would end.

It was mid afternoon before any of the vampires visited again, though this time when Hanji arrived it was Erwin by her side instead of Levi. No one said a word about his absence, but somewhere beneath my fear and hate I felt a twinge of regret. I forced the thoughts of him never returning away, however, unsure if it was because I was convinced he would come back anyway or because I didn't want him to.

Armin joined the two of them in the kitchen while Mikasa stayed with me on the couch watching the Fox and the Hound, though I knew that though she kept her gaze forward she was straining to listen in on what was being said. I almost told her, too, as it would've been easy to listen in, but I chose to keep myself focused on the movie- after this morning, I didn't want to risk breaking down at the reminder that I wasn't human and had more than human senses.

So we waited, waited and waited and waited, and after the movie ended we stared at the credits until Armin came back into the small living room to sit down on my other side and clear his throat. He wore a determined look, one that betrayed itself to his oldest friends, and we turned to him to find out what he was so unsure about. He seemed to struggle with holding the set expression before giving up, though I think he knew that we had already seen through the facade before he let it down.

"Eren, you um, you know we've been trying to deal with a lot of stuff? And how Levi went away for a little bit?" I nodded slowly, unsure where this was going and not at all pleased with the topic of being left by the Vampire King being brought up. "Well, as much as we've tried to avoid it, we've decided-" he shot a glare at where the two vampires had joined us in the cramped living room, and I resisted snorting at the expression- "we've decided to give you the full story."

I furrowed my brow, looking to Mikasa for help but only finding her just as confused. I knew that I hadn't been allowed the full story, but I hadn't really minded- I just wanted to sleep most of the time, anyway. What good would I do, anyway? Send me into another breakdown and fuel my hatred for the Vampire King for abandoning me? I sighed, leaning closer to the raven haired female next to me as I returned my gaze to Armin, who swallowed. When he finally spoke up again the determined look had come back, though something told me that he was actually feeling as set on doing this as he looked.

"I... Well, you'd better get comfortable, I guess. And maybe get a drink?" He sighed, looking down at his lap. "This is going to take a long time..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no excuse. I will say, however, that I have every single one of the next chapters written, and will be making an effort to make up for my absence with daily updates now.


	36. Chapter 36

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren finally grows a pair and makes his stand, and Levi struggles to remain at a distance. From the sidelines, Hanji reminds Levi that he happens to be going through heat currently. 
> 
> Levi tells her quite politely to shove those useless hormones up her ass.

Levi's POV

"You're making Eren do /what/?" The question rang through the near empty throne room, only a certain four-eyed shitface and myself present to hear the words laced with rage echo as I tried to calm heavy breathing, hands curled into fists at my side where I stood in front of my throne.

The throne room wasn't my favorite spot in the world, but it was somewhere I knew no one would enter without permission, and when I had first come here I had just wanted somewhere to sit. The room Eren and I had been using was still dangerous since we weren't sure what had happened to the vampire that had found us there, and in all honesty if I ended up back in the old tunnel full of moon tears I'd only work myself up more. No, at that time the throne room would work best, large and quiet and easily devoid of emotions. It was an ideal place to cool down and sort out my thoughts, so I had ended up there.

Slumped back in the garish throne I had sighed, running a hand through my hair and trying to ignore the pressing thoughts of Eren's expression when he told me to go back to sleep. I understood that the kid was both mentally and emotionally unstable, but it was incedibly frustrating when he could go from asking me to sleep with him to asking me to leave him alone as if he still hated me.

Maybe he did.

I wasn't sure how I felt about the possibility, all of a sudden more concerned with a loose thread on my cloak. It was stupid how much I hated thinking directly about my feelings towards the kid, though I knew why. I'd always been so concerned with living normally, so now that Eren had turned, the only thing I could try to save was his human mindset if I truly cared that much about 'living normally'. I could try, but given his current condition it was unlikely he'd make it through this unchanged, so my insistence upon trying anyway revealed that I was more of a stubborn ass than I had admitted to myself.

At least, that had been my thoughts on it until yesterday when I found myself giving Eren the moon tears. Sharing half my secret with the kid, as what? A peace offering? It was fucking stupid and I knew it, yet I had still done it and had been so fucking relieved when he had smiled. I had been aware that he still hadn't been completely okay with me yet, yet I had still been so relieved to see his smile, and though I had already admitted to myself that perhaps my happiness was linked more with the brat in question than it was with my idea of normal.

Once more I had sighed, and at that moment the single person who would bother me here without asking first warped into being in front of my throne. I had raised an eyebrow, not caring much for standing up to greet the eccentric vampire, but that had changed the second she had told me why she was here, and now I stood furious as I waited for an answer.

"Hey, hey! We're not forcing him into anything- he agreed to do this!" I breathed out heavily through my nose, nails going into my skin as my fists curled tighter. "And besides, it's just a little speech..."

"Little? From what I've heard, half of all humanity will show up! Not to mention everyone from our side of the mountains, and last I checked being fucking swarmed by people was not a good thing for his mental stability, batshit." Hanji flinched, trying to send my an innocent smile that ended up looking more guilty.

"Come on, Levi, we need to do something! We can't just sit around and wait for Humanity's Council to get off their lazy bums and start executing vampires, this entire rebellion thing will be pointless!" I all but growled at her words, anger and an extreme sense of protectiveness of the kid I had left back on his side of the mountains fueling my words.

"There's no way in hell I'm letting you go through with this, so-"

"Levi, come on! It's not really your choice!" My mouth snapped shut with an audible click, and as her words echoed through the room I squeezed my eyes shut and took a long slow breath in. When the brunette spoke next her words were quieter, more gentle, and I flinched at the sound of them. "People need to see that he's okay, Levi..."

"He's not. He's not okay, Glasses, and that's why- that exactly why I can't just let him fucking do this!" The anger in my words was empty, however, and Hanji knew it. It wasn't my choice, and it stung. I sighed, rubbing at my temples and trying to calm down. "Why are you even telling me this?"

"So you can go wish your mate luck, obviously." I shook my head in disbelief at her words, sinking back into my throne and resting my head in one hand.

"I'm not sure if you've noticed yet, fuckface, but he doesn't exactly want to see me right now." The glasses-clad vampire scrunched up her nose, scratching her head.

"Yeah, what's up with that? I wanted to see a heart warming welcoming were you guys realized your feelings and fucked that night, not some kind of tension that may as well be hatred!" I snorted, though I remained disgusted at the thought of this shitty excuse of a vampire hoping for me to fuck the mentally unstable brat, because what the hell did she know?

"Fuck you- I'm not so dumb as to risk triggering a big-ass hormone fest, even if there had been a disgustingly heart warming scene." Hanji laughed, smile demonic, and I scowled.

"So I was right! Your heat is this week!" I huffed, flicking her off and trying to ignore how her grin only grew wider. This was stupid, a waste of time, and all I wanted to do was get the idiot to call off the speech, not bother me about some stupid heat period I had long grown control of. I sighed, and at the heavy sound Hanji's demonic look faded slightly, her playful expression being replaced with something more sympathetic. "Look, Levi, you have to patch things up with Eren. I won't always be there to suggest literal fuckery!"

I said nothing, catching how though her last words were playful her tone lacked its usual excited tone. I hated when she was like this, in the rare situations she deemed too serious to joke about, because it meant that whatever she said she was serious about, and it meant that whatever she said was usually right.

"I fucking hate you, Glasses." She laughed quietly, and I sighed, dragging a hand over my face. "Look, it's not like I don't want to make up with the idiot- he's the one who sent me away. And I'm not going back until he decides he wants me there, so don't push it."

"Well, you're no fun. You're really going to ignore him like that? Poor kid probably will break down if you don't show up at the public speech." I scowled, still against the idea of such a thing happening but more bitter about the fact that I didn't have a say in it. I knew that we needed to do something, and I knew that in the end it was up to him, but still the thought of putting him into such an volatile position was not one I was fond of.

"I'll be there if things get out of hand. Just don't tell the brat, okay? He'll end up running away to hide behind something, and then this whole thing will be pointless anyway." Hanji sent me a lopsided grin, winking at me and nodding.

"Sure thing, Your Highness. When he breaks down in front of all those people because he can't find his mate, though, it's your fault." And with that she warped out of the room, and I sighed. It was stupid to think about, the idea of the kid breaking down in front of everyone like that. I knew he was mentally unstable, had witnessed it firsthand more times than I would've liked, but still... The kid was strong. If he agreed to this it was because he understood it could mean winning or losing this rebellion, and I refused to believe that if he understood that then he would so easily break down. He would hold strong, that much I had to believe, or else I wouldn't be able to trust in the success of this risk.

With that last thought I forced my mind away from the subject, focusing on the most mundane and routine of things until the time had come for me to attention the brat's public speech. I hated that he had agreed to do this, but what could I do? Nothing, nothing save for pull my hood over my face and hope to blend in with the crowd as I kept an eye on my chosen mate. The park where this was taking place was large but packed completely full of people, the small amphitheater where Eren would be giving a talk about whatever the fuck Glasses thought up being the center of attention as the devil herself worked to make sure Eren's mic was working.

My brow furrowed together at the sight of the kid, looking like he was going to shit himself and visibly shaking. Once more I had to tell myself that he was strong, strong enough to make it through this, but I readied myself to warp to his side in an instant anyway. The park grew deathly quiet when Eren finally stepped up to take the microphone Hanji handed him, one hand gripped right enough around it that his knuckles grew white as his other hand clenched by his side.

"I- I um... I'm sorry, for this being... At night, and stuff. I just, I can't really..." He coughed, scratching the back of his neck, and I felt my expression soften out of concern for the kid and his deer-in-the-headlights stare. "Anyways, um, hi. I'm Eren Yeager, though I assume you guys all know that..." A best of silence, and then with a sigh the brunet continued. "I never really thought that... Well, I never really thought I'd be much of anybody. Never thought I'd make my mark, I guess. So when I was chosen- by the Vampire King himself no less- I was stunned. Who was I to take the place of someone special for him, when he had waited ten years for someone perfect? I mean, I couldn't even walk across the stage properly..."

I felt my eyes widen, and I moved my head down, somehow ashamed. This kid... He was stupidly good at keeping this kind of thing from me. The crowd felt it, too, their original wary and worked up mood calming down and melting into something that resembled pity more than anything else.

"Levi was... I mean, um, His Highness? You guys know what I mean, though, so..." He coughed, obviously unsure what to do with himself, but I remained suddenly stiff with anticipation for what he would say next. Perhaps he wasn't aware of it, but the amount of influence he had on everyone was... Well, if he wanted me gone, he'd have no problems getting it done. "Levi was... He was kind. And without him, I know I'd be dead right now, probably multiple times over. I didn't understand fully what happened these past few weeks, but when I found out that he had been arrested... I was- I was mad. Who did the Council think they were, taking him from me, taking him away because he chose to spare a moment on the battlefield to save my life? Who were they, to take away the king of a kingdom that they did not control by law and yet try him in a court that really didn't matter?" He paused again, taking a shuddering breath, and finally his expression change registered in my mind: he was furious. 

The large crowd felt it too, felt it and mirrored it and soon every spectator in the park was silent not out of respect or pity but out of the way their rage bound them to the spot. Eren was the reason they had been mad, had been the reason humanity questioned their Council, and now Eren was voicing all their thoughts and feelings but it was personal, personal because the vampire we were watching had once been human, and had once been a normal nobody like everyone else here.

"When I first... When I was chosen, I got mad at Levi. I got mad at the world he dragged me into, and he told to go home. He said that if I wanted to go home he would take me, but I couldn't do that to him. He had waited to choose and he had chosen me, and it wasn't like he could get a second chance. So I stayed, but before I made that decision, he told me the vampire's version of our history. I was told... I was told that during his trial, Levi told you guys, too. That it was why you guys are here now, wanting a change, wanting somebody to do something about how Humanity's Council was treating vampires. They were beat into submission and hunted to near extinction, and yet Humanity couldn't function without them and asked for their help.

"It's stupid, it's so stupid that they have to live like that, put upon a pedestal for humanity to view as respectful creatures when in reality they were forced into a cage of mountains and manipulated by a government that wasn't theirs. I was mad, too, and I wanted somebody to do something about it. I wanted to help, and so I did the only thing I could think of to do so and I chose to stay with Levi instead of leaving." He paused, looking down at the ground for a few seconds that stretched into infinity before looking up again. "I don't regret my decision."

At his words, I became the single person in the crowd to be relaxed. My shoulders slumped with relief, my expression softened and I let out a quiet sigh. He didn't regret his choice, he didn't regret me, and with those words I wouldn't feel bad about going to him when he finished with this. 

"I can't do much else than that; staying with him, I mean. But Hanji- um, another vampire I became friends with- when she was helping explain what's been going on to me, she told me about you guys. She said... She said that I could make a difference, that I could make you guys make a difference. I can't do much on my own... I mean, um, no one really can." He bit his lip, looking down for a moment as he seemed to struggle to collect his thoughts. 

The tension in the air was tangible, everyone waiting for the deciding words that were coming. Eren had the power right now to change his world, to change Humanity, and this was his chance- I could only pray he wouldn't waste it. I felt some of the worry I felt dissipate, however, when the brunet looked up again, his expression morphed into one of pure determination.

"Which is why... I'm asking for your help. We need each other's help. We've depended on Humanity's Council for longer than any of us have lived, for longer than many vampires have lived, and because of that we would be helpless without them. If we can become independent, however... The situation would be reversed. I thought... I thought a lot about what I would tell you guys, what I would ask. I'm awful in front of a crowd, and my failure to simply walk across a stage at my 18th Ceremony proves that." He let out a soft laugh, though I had to disagree with him: everything he said, the way he drew the crowd in... He was fucking amazing at this. 

Absently, I found myself wondering how he'd do ruling a kingdom. 

"So I thought about it, and I tried to come up with the exact words to ask you guys, but in the end I couldn't really come up with a question at all. I only had desires, and my only hope of getting what I want would be to spread my desires to enough people that it can make a difference. I want to be rid of our Council, I want to repair relations with vampires so that we're equals, I want so many things for a race that I don't even belong to... I want Humanity's independence, an independence from the Council that makes them weak and powerless and unnecessary, an independence that gives them no way to fight back." He took a deep breath, eyes hard and unwavering, and when he let it out he gave the audience a weak smile. Perhaps I was the way his expression wavered, perhaps it was the way he spoke next, but somehow the crowd was once more more sad than angry, and as a whole we wondered why. "For years vampires have helped behind the scenes to keep humanity on its feet, and now they need your help. Well, um, we need your help. So please... Help me. Help me with this, because in the end I have no right to determine the fate of Humanity, and we need your help just as much as you need ours." Another pause, and I almost missed the subtle way his grip tightened on his mic as he swallowed heavily once more. "Please..."

And then he was done. The park was completely devoid of man-mad sound as Hanji took the microphone back, only the rustling of leaves and the soft sounds of the park nightlife breaking the silence. The quiet seemed to last forever, forever and on beyond past that, but after so much time the silence was broken by a single slow clap, and within seconds the park was alive with explosive sounds. People screamed, yelling their approval and their anger and their pity as they clapped and cheered and caused an incredibly embarrassed-looking Eren to take a few steps back and scratch the back of his neck, unsure of what to do with himself. 

The cheering probably would've lasted forever, too, as long as the silence and then longer than that, had it not been for the fact that at that exact moment Eren's stumble backwards became a trip, and his trip became a fall, and even from this far away I could should have been able to smell an increase in heart rate yet I could smell nothing. I could smell nothing as his head hit the concrete hard enough it made a sickening cracking sound before bouncing slightly, head nothing but how people's cheers turned to gasps and then into cries of concern, and before I could realize what had happened I had warped to the fallen brunet's side.

I was furious when my attention was ripped from his unconscious body to meet with the crowd now watching me, hearing their cries claiming that I had appeared to kill Eren, to take him away and kill him for being a vampire that supported humans. I was furious at hearing their words, and as my hands went up to rip away my hood I was unsure if it was from that rage or my fear for my chosen mate that my hands shook. Why now, why now of all times?

The audience's cries of concern and anger died down when they saw my face, though I wasn't aware of whether I had snarled at them to shut the fuck up for two seconds or if I had only imagined it. It didn't really matter, in the end, though, because after that my attention was back on Eren and I was suddenly terrified because I still couldn't smell him.

"Hanji! What the hell's wrong with him! I thought you said you were feeding him- I can't smell... There's no fucking way that's as much blood as you claim he's taken in!" The eccentric vampire was at my side, hovering over Eren and flitting from place to place as she muttered under her breath the different possibilities. 

"I though he had been feeding! But this is... Oh, god, how did we not notice?" How, how indeed? How, when I was so close to him, how did I not notice that his scent was weak? This wasn't right...

I was kneeling next to him, his head cradled in my arms, but it was only when he shifted slightly did I relax enough to move him more than that. I turned his head slightly before opening his mouth, grimacing of the thought of sticking my hands in someone's mouth before angling his head so that I could see his fangs better. They were long, longer than they should be, expressing need for something to feed on lest, well, lest this happen. It was stupid, stupid and unfair and so many other things I could spend an entire fucking day complaining about what had happened, but in the end that got me nowhere.

Feeding him did.

I wasn't aware I had yanked up my sleeve and jammed his fangs into my forearm until the pain there registered in my mind, and even then I barely reacted. Hanji was trying to get me to wait until we had AB- blood ready for him to feed him, but a glare in her direction silenced her. Eren, starved and breathing only in shallow breaths, had begun to feed automatically when my blood had been presented to him, and now the entire park was silent as they waited for something to happen. Absently I wondered if this scare and my 'jump to the rescue' would cover up everything else of importance that had just happened, but I refused to believe that Humanity was as dumb as that.

This was my problem, a problem that had developed when I had failed to find something wrong with the amount of blood in my chosen mate, and Humanity had nothing to do with it. Now all I could do was feed the brunet, feed him and warp him home to his apartment, and pray for a miracle.


	37. Chapter 37

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren wakes up after having been fed, and finally takes the first step forward in trying to both forgive Levi and to forgive himself.

Eren's POV

 

The smell I woke up to was metallic, the taste even more so, and instinctively I knew what had happened. I no longer craved an unnamable thing, no longer had a hunger I knew no human food could satisfy, no longer felt an aching pain everywhere as I struggled to pretend that I was perfectly healthy.

Levi's scent was everywhere.

I shuddered, curling up into myself as I turned to bury my head into my pillow. Part of me wasn't even surprised, had been expecting to wake up one of these days and be fed, but that didn't make it any better now that it had actually happened. I was overwhelmed with a sense of guilt, knowing that I had probably made the Vampire King worry if it was his blood I had fed on and not one of the blood bags Hanji had prepared for me. Hadn't it been my goal to keep my distance from the older vampire until I had sorted out my feelings towards him? That wouldn't be an option, now, not with this guilt, not with this sense of debt, not with the quiet breathing coming from where my desk chair had been pulled out to face my bed.

I didn't need to look to know it was him, asleep though he seemed to have been set on watching over me, and part of me simply didn't want to look. The sight that would be waiting for me would only bring more guilt, more confusion, more anger, feelings brought upon me because of my own choices but still feelings I didn't want. It wasn't that I didn't regret starving myself, refusing to feed because of my refusal to accept the fact that I wasn't human anymore, but if I had simply given up and resigned myself to being a monster... I'd regret that even more.

I sighed, stalling a moment more before turning around and sitting up to face where Levi sat slumped in my desk chair across the room. I wet my lips, nervousness only increasing as I was greeted with the metallic sting of blood, and tried desperately to come up with something to say. Thank you? Sorry? How could either of those meager words compare to what he had done for me, what he had put up with, what he had forgiven? For so long I had been trying to run from him, now, but he never chased. No, instead he would simply wait for me, wait for me to fall so he could catch me or wait for me to run back and hide so he could shelter me.

Somehow, hating him made me hate myself, too.

"...Levi?" His name felt so foreign on my lips, avoided for so long and only yelled when I got too angry to avoid it any longer, never whispered so carefully, delicately, as if the owner of the name would break if it was said too harshly. Unsurprisingly, the whisper didn't wake the Vampire King, so I tried again, slightly bolder this time. "Levi?" 

He stirred, seeming reluctant to be dragged from his slumber, but after a moment he snapped his eyes open and head up to look at me, hands already curling into fists as he searched my expression for any sign that something had gone wrong. It was stupid, stupid because so many things were wrong... I took a deep breath, refusing to break down again now that Levi was back- the older vampire would assume that it was his fault and then... I wasn't sure what he'd do. A part of me believed that he'd simply stay there, waiting for me to fall like he always was, but the other part of me... The other part of me believed that he was too careful with me, that he'd feel too guilty, and that it was possible he'd simply leave me.

"Eren..." He took a breath, evidently about to speak, but just before the first sounds could come out he stopped himself, closing his mouth and hesitating before trying again. "Are you okay?" A stupid question following stupid actions and stupid thoughts, but I would answer anyway.

"No." The look on the raven haired vampire's face almost made me regret the word, hurt and resignation present though it was fucking ridiculous that he was hurt by his idiot mate saying that he wasn't okay. I bit my lip, wincing when I forgot that my fangs wouldn't be protruding as much now that I had fed and ended up digging them into my bottom lip, then took a shuddering breath, forcing myself to meet the Vampire King's eyes. "Why did you feed me?"

"Because you passed out." The way he said the words made it clear he thought the answer was obvious, that it had been the only sure course of action, and I had to once more stop to take a deep breath before I could get too upset with the older vampire.

"You should've waited for my permission." The words were clipped, suppressed anger and belated despair coloring them and forcing me not to mind when Levi flinched across the room.

"If I had waited for your permission, you would be dead." Once more it was stated as if obvious, as if I was an idiot for not knowing, and once more I had to pause to make sure I wasn't getting too worked up. I closed my eyes, focusing on the nothing there, the blackness there, and when I next spoke I had managed to get ahold on my upset well enough that I sounded just as emotionless as Levi usually did.

"You should've waited for my permission." There was silence, then, silence long enough that I opened my eyes and sought out his gaze, silence long enough that I averted my own eyes when I found the pity and depression in his, and silence long enough that somehow I felt like crying again.

He didn't say anything, yet, though I heard the quiet creaking of the chair as he left it and the muffled sound of his almost mute footsteps before they paused by the side of my bed, but still I kept my gaze down and tried to look as if I truly did find the simplistic pattern in my bedsheets interesting. I sucked in a quiet breath when two cold fingers nudged my head upward, forcing me to look at him and shudder because he hadn't removed his fingers, and I wondered absently if he thought I would've moved my head away again if he had.

"Eren..." He let out a heavy sigh, though I was distracted by the emotions flickering behind his eyes when he dropped his fingers from under my chin and instead placed himself delicately on the edge of the bed next to me, not quite sitting but seeming reluctant to lay down next to me. He didn't bother forcing eye contact when he spoke again, but his tone made it clear that he knew I was listening. "That wasn't an option. It never will be."

He didn't have to clarify what he meant, just as I hadn't had to clarify that I knew I would've died when I told him he should've waited anyway.

"Why?" Now he was looking, now he was definitely looking and I didn't want him to, so once more I averted my eyes, my next words coming out softer and even to me sounding pitiful. "Why does it matter?"

I could almost pinpoint the exact moment he snapped.

"Damn it, Eren! Why can't you understand this?" Somehow he had moved so that he hovered over me, a hand on either side of my head and expression looking more desperate than furious. "I'm not going to let you die! Your life matters you idiot, just like every one else's does, and it matters to me!"

I turned my head away, trying to force away the thoughts accompanying his words- there was a big difference between 'it matters' and 'it matters to me'. And when 'it' was my life, was me... I pushed the thoughts aside, refusing to think about this idiot's idea of normal and happiness right then; it wasn't like I could help him with that now, anyway, so why bother?

"Look, kid..." His words were followed by a sigh, and when I risked looking back up a him his expression had softened. "I'm not giving up on you yet." 

I felt like crying, then, so I did. The tears started out as watery eyes and then slow, fat drops that steamed down the sides of my cheeks and onto my pillow, leading the way to more and more tears spilling over as I struggled to keep my breathing even. It wasn't working, though, my hiccups and silent sobs breaking through and somehow making me more sad than I already was. I hadn't completely broke down, not yet, and I still had complete control over my mind, but... These past few days had been so hard, so painful and stressful and yet I hadn't allowed myself the comfort of Levi's embrace even though I knew it was there, and his words now had been the last straw. I was furious with him for making me feed, guilty enough for making him worry that it weighed my heart down, tired enough to sleep for a century, and maybe I could- I was done denying the fact that I wasn't human. It was that denial that tore me apart every day, that wore me out and kept me in trouble and out of the Vampire King's reach, and I was done with it.

He let out a grunt of surprise when I threw my arms around him, pulling him down on top of me and sobbing into where I buried my nose into his hair. After a moment he slowly wrapped his arms around me in return, awkwardly trying to figure out what I wanted him to do and how to do it when in reality he didn't need to do anything- he was here, he was here and I had given up pushing him away, and there was nothing else that he had to do.

"Eren..." I felt more than heard his sigh, and then he was pulling himself up off of me, turning to sit next to me before hesitantly pulling me over to him. 

I followed his lead obediently, not wanting to lose the comfort he gave me lest I start to panic about feeding or the failure of a public speech I had given or anything else that I didn't want to care about, and was soon feeling almost like a child with the way he held me in his lap. I ignored the feeling, however, burying my nose into the crook of his neck and taking a shuddering breath in, and soon a familiar hand had raised upwards to run through my hair. The position was familiar, repeated often whenever the Vampire King tried to comfort me, and it's familiarity was comforting in itself.

"Eren, are you... Will you be okay?" He knew I wasn't okay, not now, he knew it and it was why we sat like this, with me almost draped over his front and wondering how we managed to get like this every time even though I was so much taller than he was.

"I don't know..." Because I didn't, and once more I felt the older vampire sigh before tightening his grip one me.

"I'm here for you, you know..." I nodded, knowing it and thankful for it though I would never admit it, and then in the next second the words and feelings were gone as the smaller vampire changed the subject, perhaps wanting to avoid a breakdown and thinking that I couldn't handle thinking about him being near me. 

He was wrong. Right now, it only made me happy.

"You did great. Talking to everyone. I don't know why you thought you were shit with crowds." I hummed my thanks in return for the compliment, though after a nervous laugh that I managed to make seem only slightly out of place I muttered a reply into the raven haired vampire's skin.

"Because I tripped at my Year Ceremony. Twice." Levi let out a breathy laugh, and I marveled at how the vibrations felt with my chest pressed up against his.

"There was a second time?" I felt my cheeks color, and I turned my head so that I wasn't looking at him, though I kept it resting on his shoulder.

"Fuck off." Again he let out a quiet chuckle, though this time his words afterward lacked their previous playful tone.

"You were the one who said you didn't regret staying with me..." I sighed, recognizing how his words trailed off at the end in question, in need of reassurance, and after a beat of silence I gave him my own roundabout answer, trying to keep a teasing tone in my voice as I spoke.

"I'd still rather have not fallen in front of thousands of people, idiot." It was almost comical how I could feel the tension leave his body, my silent reassurance that no, I didn't regret it, that he was an idiot for needing to be told again, that it was okay.

"You would've found some other way to make a fool of yourself." Empty words, empty with relief and happiness and not really caring for what we were talking about.

"Meanie." Equally uncaring about what was said, so long as something was said, so long as the mood stayed nice like this, so long as my tears kept drying without being washed away with new ones.

"I don't regret it." I found myself smiling, then, turning my head back again to smile into the crook of his neck and taking as long as I could to appreciate how good he was at this, at slipping in words that were said as one thing and meant as something totally different- at telling me that he didn't regret choosing me just as I didn't regret staying with him, but giving me an out in that he didn't regret teasing me if I didn't want to know what he really meant. 

Idiot- of course I wanted to know.

"Thank you, Levi..." His grip on me tightened in silent acknowledgement of my words, the hand that had been stroking my hair pausing as we both grew still and silent with relief and the comfort of being relaxed in each other's company. It felt like it had been so long since I had last let him hold me like this without collapsing into hysterics, though I knew that it had barely been six weeks since I was first chosen by him, and I found myself wishing desperately that I wouldn't ever have to go so long like that without the comfort of his company again. "Promise you'll tell me everything that's going on from now on?"

"I would've thought you'd have asked your sister or that idiot four-eyes about that by now." I stayed silent, not wanting to admit that I was trying to come up with a way to make sure this level of comfort between us wouldn't die again, instead just curling my fingers into the fabric of his shirt and hoping he would understand what I wanted. He let out a short hum, the hand in my hair resuming its repetitive movements as he spoke up again, this time with his voice tinged with amusement. "I don't know... I don't think a brat like you could handle the grown-up talk."

I yanked my head back, aware that my attempt at a glare probably looked more like a pout than anything, irritated that he wasn't just letting me get away without saying it, saying that I wanted to come up with as many excuses as possible to strengthen the bonds between us before something tried to rip us apart again. It seemed pointless, too, because what other bond did we need when he had chosen me? We were supposed to be mates, yet I was insecure enough I felt like I needed him to make such an insignificant promise... Stupid, so stupid...

"Oi, kid-" he broke off when I flinched at his words, and I found myself looking down in shame as I realized he had caught my change in mood. He sighed, and I felt myself slowly sinking forward again to hide in the Vampire King's shoulder once more. "Eren, it's fine. I promise, alright?"

"You do? Even if you're busy with King things?" He grunted, nodding, but before he could say anything I spoke up once more, voice embarrassingly high as I tried to hide the shaky quality in it, terrified he would say no. "You promise you'll make time for me?"

There was a short silence in which I almost shit myself, but after a moment the hand that had been running through my hair paused and moved to the side of my head, cradling my cheek as he pressed our heads together lightly. My breathing hitched, unused to taking any sort of step forward with the older vampire in terms of our mutual level of comfort with each other, and I had to remind myself once more that I was being stupid for thinking so hard about every tiny thing.

"I promise." The words seemed to come from nowhere, me having forgotten that I had ever asked him the question that had been weighing me down, but now that I received my answer I felt a smile tug on my lips and I tightened my grip on the raven-haired vampire and letting out a shuddering breath.

"I think," the breath in I took was shaky, my voice unsteady, but I wasn't terrified-I shook with relief, with happiness, emotions that seemed to be so rare in these past couple weeks, and I think Levi understood, because he didn't say anything as I continued. "I think... I'm going to be okay. I'm going to be okay..."

His grip on me tightened one last time, and then I was drifting off, truly happy for the first time in ages.


	38. Chapter 38

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erwin and Hanji propose a way to unite humanity and the vampires, Levi reacts negatively, and- oh, had you forgotten that Levi was in heat?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please keep in mind that heats in this fic come with the same implications as they do in others- possible mpreg. However, please also know that before it actually happens I explain in great scientific detail why and how it's possible in this scenario, and I'm not going to be rushing things or even focusing on the pregnancy all that much at all.

Levi's POV 

 

It was semi-reluctantly that I gently shifted Eren out of my lap and repositioned him in bed after he had fallen asleep, not wanting to leave the boy I had finally made peace with but knowing that I had to know what was happening as a result of the brat's speech so that I could figure out where we should go from here. I was still king in the middle of all this shit, and as much as I hated it, I had to continue to do my job even if my chosen mate's life was taken- I was lucky I only had to deal with this. I knew it, knew it and yet...

I sighed, running a hand through my hair and giving Eren's bed and the boy himself a last wistful glance before exiting his room, closing the door behind me as quietly as I could. I was determined to get this over with quickly, the brunet's recent words revealing his fear of waking up alone still fresh in my mind and propelling me forward into where Hanji and Erwin were speaking in hushed tones. Armin and Mikasa were in the kitchen, probably preparing themselves an early breakfast, though I assumed that they were only doing so so that they had an excuse to leave the vampires in the small living room alone since it was dark enough out that I doubted it was a normal time for them to eat. At my appearance in the next room over, the commander cut off from what he was saying, and after a moment of confused silence Hanji turned, and upon seeing me, grinned and moved to tackled me to the ground.

"Levi! I almost didn't know you were there- you smell enough like your poor sweetheart to pass as him!" I scowled, peeling her off of me before I could be knocked to the ground and not bothering to help her when the force made her stumble and almost fall backwards.

"Fuck off, batshit." She cackled, and I found myself relaxing; if that shitty four-eyes was able to laugh like that, things couldn't be too bad, and a glance at Erwin confirmed it. "I take it Eren's public speech or rally or whatever the fuck that was went over well with the public?"

"It did, though what got the biggest reaction was of course the last thirty seconds of it." I tensed, but the vampire commander only chuckled. "You could've been nicer in asking people to stop accusing you of hurting Eren, though, you set quite a few people off into campaigns to throw you from power."

I snorted, getting the feeling that those particular idiots had no idea how vampires chose their leaders if they were demanding a change, even if I myself was demanding the same thing of humanity. I knew damn well I was being a hypocrite, but at least my kingdom lived peacefully and I didn't spend my free time executing innocents and lying pointlessly. On the topic of our governments, however...

"Oi, Erwin." He raised an abnormally large eyebrow, leaning back into the couch and crossing his arms as he waited for me to voice the thought that had caused my brow to furrow and the last aftertaste of the comfort Eren gave me to disappear. "Have you figured out what to do after Humanity's Council has lost it's power?"

"I have an idea, but..." He exchanged a glance with a suddenly wicked looking Hanji, and I unconsciously leaned back a bit, wary. "It's a stretch. We were already considering uniting our kingdoms, however..."

"Eren's a vampire now. Humans won't want to be part of a 'united kingdom' if no one in power was human." Erwin nodded, standing and pacing a few steps to stand by the window- the idiot had always been one for theatrics.

"Which is why we were considering asking you and Eren to have a child." I said nothing, still and silent and completely shell-shocked as I tried to figure out if I had misheard. Eventually, however, I began to realize that I had indeed heard correctly, as a glance at a certain four-eyed freak revealed that she had become only more excited.

"You've got to be fucking kidding." Erwin shook his head slowly, turning to look back at me now as if unsure if I was about to simply leave the room as I was tempted to do, but I stayed, at least ready to hear his reasoning. "You know they're always born vampires- it wouldn't even help!" It was Hanji that answered me now, pushing her glasses up on her face roughly as she spoke at a fast pace, desperate to get all her words out at once before I shut her up.

"Actually, I've done some research on that this past century, and I have reason to believe that if the child was born on this side of the mountains, under the influence of humanity and fed with the nutrients of the human food Eren insists on eating, it would be born as a human. Ultrasounds seem to show that no fang development begins until the sixth week of the first trimester, after a rudimentary circulatory system has been formed and has begun pumping blood- an entire week later than babies developing when both its parents feed like vampires! My theory is that the baby would be human, but because it doesn't receive the proper nutrients it would need to be a human it begins to develop vampiric features so it can survive just off of its mother's blood and the blood she feeds off of." She seemed to cut herself off then, as if scared that if she didn't I'd do it for her, but I was too stunned to say anything for a moment. I shook my head slowly in disbelief, slumping against the wall behind me and running a hand through my hair as I collected my thoughts.

"...fuck. You guys are actually serious about this, aren't you?" They said nothing, did nothing, and for another moment I was silent, rubbing furiously at my temples. "How the hell do you even know it won't react to the blood Eren feeds on? He's a vampire, now, and it's not like turned vampires keep any of their human genes." Hanji seemed to breath a sigh of relief, glad I wasn't outright shooting the idea down, but the notion hadn't left me just yet- it was incredibly tempting to simply flip them both off and leave the room to hide with my chosen mate from the fuckers in his living room.

"Again, this is just speculation, but I believe that because all of our vampiric features are on separate and extra chromosomes than our human ones, those vampiric features would usually be dormant if it wasn't for the situation that pressed us, as fetuses, to activate those genes to be able to live off of the blood our parents fed on. So even though you two are both vampires now, your child would be a human by default and should stay that way, so long as Eren continues to eat human food- he would, after all, be the one carrying the child." I finally paused in my intense inspection of the ground, looking up at the four-eyed freak skeptically.

"You, someone who's never even fucking attempted at having a child, want me to demand one from Eren in the middle of a fucking revolution based off of a theory? How the hell do you expect me to agree to this?" My voice was harsh and clipped, and at the sound of it the eccentric vampire flinched and seemed to cower back slightly, but when I next spoke the animosity was drained from my words and Hanji's expression was softening out of pity. "How the hell... how the hell do you know he'll be safe?"

"Levi..." I sighed, not wanting her pity, and turned my head away as I spoke up again, forcing my voice back into the emotionless tone I tried so hard to keep up all the time.

"Whatever. It's not my decision, anyway." Because it wasn't, and even if we decided to trust in Hanji's mental calculations and recent research, I wouldn't let anyone tell Eren he didn't have a choice, that he didn't have the right to choose how he lived his life. He was fragile now, recuperating and only barely accepting my presence... How could I ever demand of him that he not only allow me to sleep with him, but that he bore the child afterwards as well? No, no, this wasn't their choice, and it wasn't mine, either- it was Eren's, and Eren's alone.

"Do you really believe that you have no say in this? We get that you want Eren to have a choice, but Levi... It's your kid, too..." I sighed, shaking my head slightly. I understood what she was saying, I did, but... Was it really my choice when I would only choose such a thing to use it as a pawn of war and revolution? It was so cruel, so unfeeling, and I would not allow reasons such as those be behind why, if ever, Eren and I raised a child.

"It may be, but the choice is still Eren's. We don't even know if this would work, so why the hell should I agree to it anyway? If anything, I'm making your lives a whole fucking lot easier than they would be by placing the entire decision on the brat, so fuck off." Erwin frowned, looking slightly puzzled, and absently I wondered if I'd regret staying in the room after I heard what he had to say- the damn bastard always had a habit of oversimplifying things, and I wasn't sure if I would be able to contain my fury if he dismissed this entire thing as if it wasn't a big deal.

"You're still in heat, aren't you?" I stiffened, sending a certain smug-looking four-eyes a traitorous look before tearing my gaze away to fixate it back on the floor.

"Yeah, I should be for another day or so, but that doesn't mean-"

"So it should work. As long as one of you is in heat the other should be able to become pregnant, so it should work. Our vampiric chromosomes do the work for us." There he was, simplifying things again, and suddenly I wondered if he heard a single fucking word of the conversation we just had.

"That's not what I fucking meant, and you know that!" I was just as surprised as the rest of the room's occupants with my outburst, eyes widened slightly and breathing erratic as I tried desperately to calm myself down, my next words quieter but almost more deadly. "I've already given you my answer, assholes. I won't agree to this no matter what science you spit at my face, so just fuck off for once and listen! The choice...the choice is Eren's." I took a shuddering breath, ready to turn and leave, ready to seek shelter with my chosen mate, ready to leave these fucktards to figure out this shit themselves-

The frantic knock at the door came simultaneously with the panicked beeping from Hanji's computer, and for a second, none of us were able to move as our minds tried to separate and put meaning to each sound. The alarming sound coming from Hanji's abandoned laptop was steadily getting louder, signaling with each increase in volume another code Humanity's Council had cracked, another ability that we had taken from them that they recovered. The electricity that we had been limiting was suddenly loud as the city came back to life, and Eren's surprised yelp as he awoke did not go unnoticed.

In an instant I was at his side, giving his shoulder what I hoped was a comforting- though awkward and slightly hesitant- squeeze before I moved to his window, taking a sharp intake of breath at the sight outside. Dozens of government vehicles lined the street, barricades set up to keep curious humans out of the general vicinity that were currently drawing citizens out of their homes and apartments and shops to watch whatever scene was beginning unfold. Military officials grouped together with weapons drawn, guns that they had purposefully waited to activate by breaking our codes until they were already position, and as I watched one of them was handed a megaphone that they raised to their mouth. I turned from the window then, letting the curtain fall back into place and only now realizing how lucky I was that it was still dark out, not caring to hear the demand for surrender. 

I knew the brunet watching me with wide eyes would do everything he could to resist warping out of the situation, and as I struggled to keep my breaths even as I searched for a solution, I absently wondered if I would be able to anyway- if Humanity's Council had been able to surprise us, there was a high chance that they had placed some sort of precautions for warping in place. However... 

I narrowed my eyes, scrutinizing the boy squirming under my gaze and trying to figure out if it would work. The noise outside of the bedroom was growing louder though, prompting me to do something to get Eren to safety, so after a moment I snapped into action, grinding out the only explanation the brunet would get until we were safe.

"Eren, we have to leave. Now."


	39. Chapter 39

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An exploration of what it means to be a vampire- both scientifically and emotionally- as Eren slowly starts to heal his broken mentality.

Levi's POV

 

"Listen, Eren, I'm not going to make you warp." He visibly relaxed, and I found myself envious of how easily it was for him to calm down in the current situation, though I figured it was more likely than not because he didn't fully understand it. "We're going to try something else. I'm going to explain it to you, and you have to promise me that when all goes to shit within the next minute, you'll be able to follow my instructions. Okay?"

I spoke slowly, cool and collected and so vastly different from the buzzing in my head and heart that I wondered if it was really me speaking. I was grateful for it though, as the last thing I wanted was for Eren to get a proper idea as to what was happening and end up having another panic attack. Now, of all times, we could not afford to wait for him to pull himself back together after breaking down, and I despised the idea of having to warp him when he was already flipping his shit.

"I won't have to warp?" I shook my head, still keeping my movements slow, and he nodded slightly to himself. "And you'll keep me safe?" A careful nod, and I found not only my patience with the situation drying up but my ability to keep treating my chosen mate as a startled animal, as well. "Okay... If you promise..."

"I promise. I'll keep you safe, Eren, no matter what it takes." He let out a shuddering breath, nodding to himself once more before looking back to me with eyes set with determination as he slid out of his bed to stand before me. "I'm going to teach you how to shift into a bat." There was a sharp intake of breath, but I was pleased to note that the burning look of purpose in his eyes hadn't faded. "I understand that humans were taught that it was an advanced skill, correct?"

"Yeah... We were told that only palace and city guards are known to do it often..." I nodded, glancing back to the window as I registered that whoever had been speaking on the megaphone had stopped.

"While that's true, shifting into a different form is a hell of a lot easier than removing ourselves from this dimension temporarily to move ourselves through space, and you've already achieved that much." His brow furrowed, the pain that flashed across his face revealing how fresh the memory was of accidentally warping from pure will to escape, the memory of the pain of leaving his leg behind. "It's true that what you did wasn't a complete success, but you warped me with you, and most beginners start with warping only themselves, so you did exceptionally well. You can shift easily, but you have to want it like you wanted to get away when you warped. Most vampires chose not to travel as a bat simply because warping is faster, not easier."

I watched his expression carefully, reassuring myself that the words I had chosen hadn't triggered anything before I even considered continuing. His hands had curled into tight fists, his brow remained furrowed, but his eyes remained unclouded by fear. For a moment I was shocked into silence by the younger vampire, memories of our short lived time together before he had turned flooding my mind and causing my muscles to tense. I knew this face, knew this expression, knew the boy that it belonged to. I knew it, knew it as a human boy with an undamaged mind and a curiosity not to be sated by anything, a determination to live the life promised to him when I chose him, a burning hope to be able to help me find the happiness I sought for. This was... This was...

"Levi?" I was only aware of how long I had been silent once he spoke up, only aware of the emotions that might have slipped onto my face once his expression had turned concerned and his hands had come up to hover over my shoulders. I sighed, sending him a small smile, and the hands that had been fluttering nervously came down to rest, one on my shoulder and the other glancing across my cheek as his expression barely lost the puzzled and worried expression.

"I'm fine, kid. I'm just..." His hands dropped back to his sides, and I was vaguely aware of the growing volume of shouts outside the bedroom, yet still my lips stayed quirked upwards. "You looked... You're finally getting better kid. You're finally getting better..." 

My head fell forward to rest on his chest, and I felt him raise his hands once more to hover over me, forcing me to stop myself from rolling my eyes at his continued battle against himself about whether he was okay being this close to me, both physically and emotionally. I pulled away, straightening and giving him a way to escape thoughts of his internal conflict to instead focus on the noise and danger outside. I sighed, setting my expression to be once more emotionless, the face of someone that Eren could put his faith in not as a friend or a mate but as a leader. He needed that now, a way to assure himself that he had made the right decision by agreeing to do as I asked of him, so I would do my best to be that crutch. It wasn't hard after all- wasn't this how I had spent centuries, playing the part of an unbreakable leader for a fragile kingdom?

"Listen, Eren, you're going to have to do this quick. After you've shifted, follow me wherever I may go, no matter what you may hear from below you or behind you. Flying will come as an instinct, but it's up to you whether you fight it or not." I met his eyes evenly, making sure my point was made clear. "Don't fight it, Eren." He swallowed thickly, and I let some of the heavy seriousness fall from my expression. "Now, close your eyes. You know what a bat looks like, right, brat? If you were a bat, your wings would be attached to your arms, but it would feel natural. You could fly anywhere you'd want to, and you'd be free. Concentrate on that feeling of freedom, on that need to fly, and imagine yourself being that bat."

My words had dropped to a low murmur, coaxing the desire and the instinct out of the younger vampire and watching as his brow smoothed out and his head tilted back slightly as he listened to my words. I was sure my gaze was felt by the brunet, sharp and unrelenting, watching carefully as first his ears began to sharpen and his nose began to shrink before the rest of him was following his urging to shift into its other unused form. Thundering footsteps rushing through the apartment outside the bedroom shook me from my transfixed state and I turned once more to the window, flinching as I yanked away the curtains and yanked open the window. We would have to be fast, the previously dark sky already turning a murky grey.

A glance thrown over my shoulder reassured me that Eren's transformation was going smoothly though a bit slower than that of someone experienced in shifting like this, and after letting out a breath of relief I shifted myself. Shifting always left me a little miffed at how much bigger my surroundings became, but the unparalleled feeling of freedom was worth it. Even as I flitted a bit to land on the windowsill and dig sharp claws into the cheap wood there, the faint breeze coming in from outside teased my fur and whispered promises of flight if I only took a step backwards, if I only allowed myself to fall backwards.

I resisted the urge too, however, instead finding Eren and letting out an irritated screech when I found him looking up at me from the floor, completely transformed and seemingly undisturbed by the pounding on the door. Fly, you idiot!

Slowly, slowly, he extended leathery wings and gave them tentative thrusts downwards, chittering happily when he was lifted off the ground an inch before he was sent tumbling back to the ground. Again he tried, undeterred by his first failure at flight and managing to make it high enough to grapple at the edge of the windowsill and pull himself up with the small hooks on his wings in place of his thumbs. Somehow even as a flying rat he managed to look thrilled, chittering again at me and fluttering his wings as if showing off.

I scoffed, turning back to the window and tottering forwards. I didn't look back before pitching forwards, extending my own wings and being thrust upwards in the air as they caught the wind. Frantic beats of the thin tissue had me turned back to watch the window, grey eyes locking with green as the annoyingly larger bat took his own small steps towards the edge of the window. Beneath me hundreds of people remained oblivious to our escape, eyes trained on the entrance to the rundown apartment complex as if we were stupid enough to forget we had the ability to shift into flying creatures. We weren't limited to warping, and shifting into a bat was something that Humanity had failed to come up with an effective nullification for yet.

My musings were interrupted by a terrified screech, a pitch too high for humans to hear but easily causing me to flinch as I caught the movement of Eren turning to look back at the door of his room. It had finally come apart, bursting into splintered pieces as armed men filled in the space there. I let out an anxious chatter, urging the brown-colored bat to let go of the ledge he was clinging to so desperately. Once more his head swiveled to look at me, fear clear in his eyes even in this animalistic state and the only warning I had before he did as I urged. He let go, falling towards the ground, and... And falling. There was no snapping open of his wings, no flipping over as he fell facing the sky, and immediately I found myself nose diving towards the idiot.

It was only a single moment, a single movement I was able to carry through without falling myself, but it seemed it was enough. I had knocked my entire body into his, spinning him in midair and grabbing at one of his wings with my feet and pulling it open. The unbalanced position had him corkscrewing through the air, but his dizzy and concerned shrieks quickly morphed into ones of triumph as he opened his over wing and managed to catch the air like I had. His wing beats were erratic, causing the younger vampire to jerk through the air as he made his way back to where I was watching him a few feet above him.

I did my best to nod at him, knowing he was looking for some sort of approval, and then I was turning away from both my chosen mate and his apartment complex as I began gaining altitude and distance from the voices yelling from the street and his room. I forced myself to discard any thoughts about whether Erwin or Hanji had managed to escape, not having time to worry when I had a task before me that required all of my attention. I knew Eren had to be thinking about his own friends right now, even as he struggled to catch up to me and managed to pull himself into a position next to me where our wing tips brushed with every downwards stroke. He could worry, he could hesitate, but I couldn't. I couldn't, because what kind of leader would I be for him then? 

No, I had to keep on like this, eyes set straight ahead and wing beats strong and decisive, or else Eren would begin to doubt. He'd doubt in me, in my decision, in my ability to keep him safe, and then he'd doubt his safety in the air and would end up hurting himself. As long as he didn't doubt he could continue like this, swerving from my side and chittering happily as he flew through a cloud and ended up damp with its mist. 

I simply rolled my eyes and continued straight as he seemed to try and coax me into following his lead, though inwardly I was once more thrilled as the playful actions caused more memories of the time we spent together when he was human to resurface. I would allow myself to think about it when we had landed, after I could reassure myself that Eren was completely unharmed and perhaps, if possible, after he had fed. The safe house I had chosen was old, old enough that there was only a suggestion of its existence on Humanity's main computer, and old enough that electricity and water weren't hooked up to he crumbling building. It was a forgotten part of Humanity, and until we found a more permanent solution it would be perfect for our needs.

I had had one of the humans that were so determined to help Eren go there a few days ago, hoping that his presence would be unnoticed compared to if I sent one of my guards to complete the task of hiding bags of blood for Eren and I to feed from should we have to stay here for an extended period of time. If need be I could always send for more, as both Erwin and Hanji knew the location of the safe house I had chosen, but it was probably best I myself avoided leaving my chosen mate's side for a while.

I began slowly losing altitude when I recognized the sprawling landscape below us as the poorly kept region of Humanity that the safe house resided in, glancing back to make sure that Eren was able to do so as well. He was, though he was falling towards the earth in short bursts before fluttering a bit as he tried to descend at a steady pace. I kept us far enough above the houses that we could be mistaken for birds at a glance, unsure of how many people would be looking in the place but not waning to risk it. 

Erwin had claimed that the large population squeezed into this small area was almost completely on our side, having long since despised Humanity's Council for taxing them out of money for food and clothing and pretending to ignore the many letters they sent requesting an audience. It was a common theme in many of the overpopulated areas on this side of the mountains, Humanity refusing to clean up the ruined parts of the earth and instead trying to squeeze their entire population into a mere section of it. It didn't affect me, but if the heavy hints from Erwin held any truth to them, it would as soon as I stepped up to lead both races united. 

I shook the thoughts from my head before they strayed too far in that direction, not wanting to think about the commander's proposal for how to unite our races when I was shifted like this. It was likely I only had about twenty-four hours left of my heat, the growing pressure it had on me multiplied when I had taken up the form of an animal, and I refused to think about it directly with Eren so close. From day one his scent had been more than appealing to me, though its pull had lessened since I had grown accustomed to it, but for the past few days I had been having to restrict my breathing once more. I didn't want to scare the brunet when his mentality was still shaky, and trying to force myself on him would definitely terrify the kid.

I was equal parts relieved and anxious at the thought of only having to worry about it for another day or so, knowing that though I was reluctant about thinking of presenting this particular... Issue to Eren, this would also be the last chance for another year for us to try and unite the two races with a human child. Adopting wouldn't be affective, so the only way that our races would accept it would be if one of us bore the child ourselves.

A vampire's heat was caused by an extra hormone that became active for a short period each year, with a single one of the six extra chromosomes every vampire had being responsible for not only this but all affects of being in heat, whether they were turned or were born into the darkness. The seventh extra chromosome I had over Eren and others like him held only the genes necessary to get through being an infant and a few years beyond as a vampire, the instinct to feed, and a preference between human blood and that of another mammal.

During heat, extra proteins were added to the gamete cells our bodies held, making it possible for someone in heat to get anyone of any gender pregnant. As I had chosen a male mate, the semen released during my heat- if released into the body of said mate- would form a fragile placenta in the peritoneal cavity, the wide open space in the abdomen. 

In a normal pregnancy between two people of the opposite sex, placentas are formed from endometrial and embryonic cells, and at the time of birth, the entire placenta detaches itself easily from the intact uterine wall to follow the baby through the birth canal. In a rare pregnancy in which the female's newly fertilized egg falls out of the Fallopian tube and into the abdomen and plants itself in the tissue there, detachment of the placenta can cause intermixing between embryonic and host tissues so that there's no clean boundary for the two.

However, as a vampire, extra measures are set up to prevent internal bleeding should intermingling become too extensive and large blood vessels must be severed in the process of cutting the placental tissue from the abdominal tissue, and placentas are less likely to invade an organ in the surrounding area so as to reduce possible damage there resulting in spontaneous hemorrhaging. The baby would of course have to still be delivered by a modified Cesarian Section, but would otherwise be healthy.

In the past, it seemed impossible for the child to be born a human, but if Hanji was right... It was true that those who bore our children were often turned before or during their time pregnant, choosing to stay with their child and mate and wanting to join them as creatures who lived in the dark. It was possible we only believed that human babies were impossible just because nearly all of their parents were vampires, and if Hanji's theory was correct than the babies had accepted the before dormant chromosomes that caused vampirism only because they couldn't otherwise survive on their parent's diet. 

I knew that no matter what was said to Eren he would continue eating like a human and only feed when it was necessary, and though I resented that fact it was possible that it would allow him to give birth to a human child. I wasn't sure if that fact would spur him into agreeing or make him resent the idea, but for now... For now, I had to focus on my task. Hanji was likely to check in on us soon after we arrived, and if she truly believed in her theory than I would consider telling Eren about it then. 

Soon after reluctantly allowing myself to accept the fact that a certain four-eyed freak could possibly be right, the safe house I had chosen came into view and I swerved in the direction of it as I descended further towards the ground. A glance back reassured me that Eren had managed to follow my lead, and I let myself relax slightly as I darted into one of the broken windows in the dilapidated house, pulling back and letting my wings catch the air to slow me down before I began shifting back into my humanoid form, landing just as I finished shifting. Eren, however, was of course not so elegant, and I snorted as I watched him come crashing through the window and tumble onto the ground before siting up, looking dazed and unsure. He chittered softly, shaking his head as if to reassemble his thoughts, and I knelt down by him and watched as he fluttered a few inches towards me.

"Brat. Come on, kid, you'll have to shift back eventually, so I'd appreciate if you did it now so I don't have to deal with a fucking bat that's just going to shit everywhere." He glared at me, and I'm sure that if I hadn't leaned back in that moment he would tried to swipe at me with the hooked claws on his wings, but I wasn't particularly offended. It felt good to be able to tease the kid again without worrying about an impending panic attack, and I was secretly thrilled that the always-present fury and passion that had made up my mate when I had first chosen him was slowly returning to him. "Oi, I don't have all day- imagine yourself human again, it isn't all that different from how you shifted into a bat earlier."

It took time, but after a few more coaxing words and a not-so-pleased screech from the younger vampire I was finally faced with a familiar looking eternal bed head as Eren failed to maintain his balance once shifted and toppled backwards onto the ground.

"Owwww..." He sat up slowly, pushing himself up with a hand behind him on the ground as the other rubbed at his head. "Levi, that hurt...."

"Don't whine, brat." He scrunched up his nose, mimicking me in a high-pitched voice before sticking his tongue out. "Real mature, idiot." I sighed as his face relaxed, his hand dropping from his head as he let himself fall back to lay on the ground. "...You okay, kid?"

"Mm. Yeah, I think so. See any weird bat limbs in not aware of?" I allowed myself a low chuckle, standing up from where I was crouched on the ground and offering a hand to help my chosen mat off he ground. He took it, letting me hoist him up before he staggered to try and catch his balance before he ended up on the floor again. Dizziness was a normal symptom of shifting the first few times you did it, and I was relieved that it seemed like that was all it was and the brunet didn't look like he was about to break down- just because he was obviously doing better than he was a week ago didn't mean I fully trusted his sanity yet.

I was in the process of fetching the blood bags from behind a broken beam when a pleased babble of speech alerted me that Hanji had finally shown up, and I sighed before turning back to where I had left Eren without bothering to find the blood. I would come back later; for now I had other shit to deal with. Hanji was squeezing Eren to her chest when I appeared in what would be the doorway had the house not have been so run down, though she stopped her longwinded greetings when she saw me.

"Levi! I came here, like, ten minutes ago and you weren't here, and Erwin wanted to send out a search party, but I told him to hold his horses and he did and look! You're here now and Eren's safe! And you're safe, too!" I sighed, massaging my temples and trying to block out the never-ending chatter and instead turning to Eren.

"Are you hungry? I was going to get something for you but was distracted by this shit here-" I jerked my thumb towards Hanji, and she cackled at me but didn't interrupt. "Do you want me to go back and...?" I trailed off, unsure of how to suggest giving him blood without causing him to panic, especially when he had already begun to tense up.

"No! No, um, I mean, no. I'm good. I'm okay for now." I felt my brow furrow, irritated that he was still so against the idea of feeding when I thought he had already relented to it, and he sighed, shoulders slumping. "I'll... Later, okay? Before I go to sleep tonight, if you feel like... If you want me to. Just... Later."

"I'm going to hold you to that, brat." He nodded, giving me a weak grin, and Hanji chose that moment to speak up.

"You guys seem close. Have you told him yet?" I tensed, eyes darting to Eren and watching as his expression turned wary. He looked scared, betrayed, and I clenched my jaw when I remembered my promise to tell him everything that was going on with this war. I had to tell him now, before Hanji did, before I lost the trust I had gained. I took a breath, meeting his eyes and trying to make it look like it wasn't a big deal even though it was, it was a huge deal, and I knew I couldn't just shrug it off but-

"Hanji wants us to fuck." 

A beat of silence, then-

"What?"


	40. Chapter 40

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi is once more made aware of how brutally incapable he is of every possible social situation. Eren catches his breath.

Eren's POV

 

My breathing was the first to spike. It started with an intake of breath, quick and sharp and disbelieving, but it didn't stop. In and out, in and out, but it seemed like my focus on the pace of my breathing only pushed it farther towards erratic. I hadn't realized that my heartbeat had spiked too until it forced its rhythmic thumping into my mind to be processed as panic, loud and fast and only serving to scare me further.

I was breaking down again, and I knew it.

No... I stumbled backwards, falling to the ground and barely wincing when I hit the hard-packed dirt hard enough to leave a throbbing pain that coursed upwards, a throbbing pain that paled in comparison to my current terror. Somehow I couldn't believe this was happening, not now, not when I was doing so well, not when Levi looked so happy earlier...

"Eren!" His voice was scared. It always was when I was like this, betraying his concern and only ever making me want to fall to my knees and cry. He tried so hard to put up a facade of not caring, of not being bothered by anything that happened, and when that facade broke I felt almost guilty for it. Who was I to break down his walls just because I couldn't keep my own up, who was I to continue to demand him to be so understanding and gentle? He always did so much for me, so much more than I ever did for him...

I was already on my knees, so I didn't have to crumple inwards much farther before I started crying.

"Eren, please..." I forced myself to raise my head just enough to meet the older vampire's eyes, suddenly feeling heavy with the weight of every time before this, of every breakdown I made him suffer through, of all the times he called my name and I didn't hear him. He was kneeling in front of me, hands clenched at his sides, and I realized with a thick swallow he didn't want to scare me. He was... 

"Le-Levi..." My voice cracked on the first syllable, and the shorter vampire took a sharp intake of breath despite the way my own breath still stuttered and my eyes were wide and helpless. "Levi, are you... Are you-hic-scared of me?" He seemed lost at the question, eyebrows drawing together and lips turning downwards in a frown as his eyes widened just slightly, and I rushed to correct myself. "You.. You said that I- I was getting b-better. Are you... Are-hic-are you scared of break-breaking... M-me?" By the end of it my voice had dropped to a hoarse whisper, and my eyes that had been searching his dropped to the ground, only to flick upwards at the single word whispered back.

"Yes." I took a shuddering breath, but I wasn't crying anymore. Somehow his confirmation made it better, made me less unsure, less angry at the now shaking hands that formed fists on the ground instead of looping around me to hold me and sooth me. "Yes... I'm terrified of losing you again, Eren. I think I always will be."

I met his eyes, then, and for once it was me that pulled our bodies close and buried my head in his neck to inhale the familiar scent. That scent... I wasn't sure when, but somewhere along the line that scent and the vampire it belonged to had become as close to a home as I'd ever have now. I breathed in again, again, slow breaths now, calm, steady, not falling apart at the seams, and felt my body melt into his as his arms came up to wrap around me. I shifted my head just slightly, feeling Levi shudder as my lips brushed just slightly against his ears with some of the first comforting words I gave back to him.

"It's okay, Levi. I'm okay." He sighed, though I wasn't sure if it was out of hope or lack of it, and I leaned back to meet his eyes again. "I'm sorry, Levi... I'm okay now. You just surprised me, okay? I didn't mean to... To..."

I broke off, unsure of how to word my thoughts, how to put a label onto the rush of feelings that overwhelmed me whenever I began to break down. I never meant to, never, but how did I tell him that? How could I say that it was all an accident, that it could've been a single word or idea that triggered something so much worse? I couldn't, so I simply fell silent, and moved my eyes to the ground.

"It's funny, huh? That I could be so confident, so mentally sound when you proposed the idea of shifting into a bat, and then you mention almost in passing that someone who has no control over me wants us to, ah, to... You know, and it almost causes another break down." I glanced up, sending the raven haired man a wavering grin before returning my eyes to the ground. "I think... I don't know. I really don't. But I almost want to say that I knew this would happen... What else am I supposed to assume, if I've known since that day we made our promises in some bathroom I'd puked all over that I'd someday be used for reproduction?" I barked out a laugh, too harsh and loud for the quiet words and feelings exchanged, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Levi flinch.

"No." I locked eyes with him again, confused but too resigned to care enough to show it. "If we... I didn't mention this to you because I want you safe. I want you safe and happy, and Hanji can take her rightful place in Hell if she thinks I'm going to just force myself on you just to get a child. It's your choice, Eren."

A heartbeat of silence followed his words, and it was in that single moment of quiet that I realized multiple things. The first was that Hanji had left the room at some point, leaving us to ourselves in a surprising respect for the intimate moment we were sharing. The other thing... The other was something I couldn't place perfectly, a thought that had been hovering over me for some time now but was more forcefully trying to get through to me now. It was in the emotion behind his eyes, in the way his heartbeat seemed to speed up just slightly when I leaned closer to rest my head on his chest, in the way his arms drew me close to let me lay in his lap and the way one hand came up to gently wipe away the remnants of tears on my face. It was there, so close...

"Eren." I opened eyes that I hadn't realized were closed, turning my head from where it was buried into the fabric of his shirt to once more meet his eyes. "Eren, the reason Hanji wants this... She thinks it would be human. She thinks we could have a human child." 

The effect was immediate: I bolted upwards, falling out of his lap and scrambling into something vaguely resembling a sitting position to look incredulously at the older vampire. He swallowed, a movement that didn't go unnoticed by me, and I allowed him to elaborate as I focused on calming the racing of my heart.

"Hanji believes that the children are born vampires only because their parents don't consume human food so are forced to take on vampiric characteristics in order to survive, and since you insist on eating human food..." My hands came up to run through my hair, barely believing what was being said. If that was true, if the child would be human, it could mean so much. A tie to my former race, an excuse to visit Armin and Mikasa when I was to guilty too keep asking for myself, a-

A connection between races.

A peacemaker.

Hanji wanted us to fuck because she believed a human child could end the revolution and unite the two races, not for any other purpose. She wanted me to bear a child for political reasons, to go through emotional and physical pain based off an idea she had to stop the calamity that she was partially responsible for. 

My breath caught in my throat, my eyes fell back to the ground, my muscles tensed as I realized what this meant. Somehow I had thought it would've meant more than that, more than just a political weapon, but knowing that it was just a pawn in the grand scheme of things coaxed out a burning anger I hadn't felt for a long time. I was furious, furious at Hanji for not realizing how insensitive she was, furious at Levi for even suggesting it, and my anger ignored the fact that he hadn't said it was his decision. Maybe he was against it, maybe he didn't want a child for political reasons or otherwise, but he had still told me. Told me to keep the promise I had made him make, and suddenly I understood the saying that ignorance was bliss.

"Fuck you." The older vampire flinched as I stood up, tilting my head slightly upwards so I had to look down even further to meet his eyes. My hands were clenched into trembling fists at my sides, my shoulders stiff, but I wasn't breaking down. No, I was still too mad for that, too consumed by the rage that swallowed me whole and caused me to lash out at Levi when logic told me that I should give him a chance to speak before I made assumptions about his opinion on it.

"Eren, I-" 

"No! Shut up! I don't want to hear it, asshole. I'm not going to be used like some kind of biological weapon, and I am not going to let you think you could create something as beautiful as new life just to use that as well." I found myself sneering down at the Vampire King, reveling in how he didn't even attempt to stand, ignoring the burning in my chest that screamed at me to stop before I did something I would regret. I didn't really hate him, I couldn't, not him...

"Eren, please just listen-"

"No! I said no! Shut up!" My entire body was shaking now, though absently I wondered if it was more from trying to resist the urge to let Levi speak, from the way I had to restrain myself from falling back to my knees and sobbing out an apology. I found myself taking unsteady steps backwards when the older vampire finally began pushing himself off the ground, eyeing the arm he had outstretched towards my wearily and growing completely stiff when his hand brushed against my cheek. I met eyes with him, then, for what was the first time since I had become furious with him, and was greeted with a pain I didn't expect to see. I inhaled sharply, letting him cradle my check, letting him speak when he opened his mouth once more:

"Eren... Don't hate me. Please, please, whatever I have to do to be forgiven, tell me. I can't be hated by you, Eren, not you..." Another sharp breath in, another tensing of whatever muscles had unconsciously relaxed. Slowly, Levi's arms came to wrap around me, enclosing me in a familiar and comforting space as it was his turn to whisper so intimately in my ear. "Eren... Please understand me: I have a very different view on this than Hanji. I don't know if you worked this out on your own, but I am currently in heat. However, I am, in all honesty, really fucking old. I've lived so many years, and the affects of my heat don't bother me nearly as much as they used to."

"What do you... What..." I was so lost right now, lost from the moment he had brought his heat into this, but he simply sighed and continued.

"I'm trying to say, kid, that if you were to agree to this... Neither quelling my heat nor ending this revolution and instability between the two races would be my priority." I felt my brow furrow, still not entirely sure what Levi was trying to tell me, but then his arms tightened around me and the thoughts that I had almost had earlier returned and-

Oh.

"Levi... Um, are you... Do you... About me?" He sighed, though I was unsure if it was out of exasperation or relief that I hadn't freaked out further.

"I won't say it until you're ready to hear it, Eren." I nodded numbly, thankful for the shorter vampire realizing that at that moment there was already too much for me to process and that I certainly didn't have an answer for him. I mean, what would I say? 'Ok, thanks for letting me know, can't promise I'll ever be as attached?' No, no, I wasn't that cruel. 

I sighed, burying my nose into the crook of the shorter vampire's neck and raising my hands to let my fingers curl into the back of his shirt. The relief that he truly didn't want a child simply to have as a political pawn was immense, and I found myself briefly wondering what life would be like with a child. It seemed so unreal to think about, imagining either of us being decent parents, and I breathed out something close to a laugh.

"Would you promise to do your research on how to take care of them?" The Vampire King tensed, obviously surprised by my question and moving one hand up to run through my hair as he seemed to think before responding.

"I would." I swallowed, closing my eyes.

"And you'd promise to love them even if I never... If I never returned your feelings?" The silence this time was longer, heavier, and his words when he answered seemed almost sadder somehow, and they were definitely quieter.

"I would." I nodded to myself, sighing and squeezing my eyes together as I took a moment to collect myself. 

Something in the tone of his voice told me, told me that I'd given him the happiness he sought for, told me that he'd find it in our potential child, as well. I knew it, knew it and somehow wanted nothing more than to make him happy after all he'd done for me, yet still I hesitated. After another heartbeat of silence Levi pulled away, meeting my eyes and letting the hand that had been in my hair drop as I realized that since we were both standing our height difference had most lie lot been making it difficult on the shorter vampire to reach.

"Eren... You don't have to do this. We'll find another way, we don't have to do this. It's going to hurt, Eren, and I want nothing more than to keep you safe and happy. It'll take time, and even if someday you decide to leave me and my side of the mountains I won't let you leave without promising to let me visit the child, or without promising to visit the child yourself if you want to leave them too." The hand he hadn't withdrawn from my body was resting on my hip, and I felt its grip tighten before he continued. "It's your choice, Eren. It's only your choice to make."

I took a shuddering breath, ready to respond, ready to wave his concerns away, but I couldn't do it. He had valid points that made me think, pause to wonder if I could do this, if I could give this to him. It would take so few words to grant him permission for this, and somehow I felt that that permission was also near identical to giving myself away. Giving away my very being, my thoughts and wishes and-

The look in Levi's eyes stopped me. It told me I was wrong, that it meant none of that, that I would forever be treated as an equal to the Vampire King and not some toy of his. It reminded me of his recent revelation, it reminded me that he cared. It hardened my resolve and made my chest squeeze in response to the for once unhidden affection in his eyes, and it opened my mouth and guided me towards words I suddenly wasn't so afraid of anymore.

"It's okay, Levi. I want to do this."


	41. Chapter 41

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Vampire King enters his final day of heat, Eren makes a dedication, and after 40 goddamn chapter these insufferable dorks kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY SO I know that not everyone is comfortable reading smut, so this chapter does NOT contain smut!! This is because it has actual plot in it so I didn't want anyone to skip. There's some sex that's alluded to, but that's it. NEXT CHAPTER is pure smut, so if you're looking to avoid it just skip next chapter completely.

Levi's POV

It was my last day in heat.

I knew it instinctively when I woke up, skin feverishly hot and morning boner painfully hard. I let out a low hiss as I began to sit up straight, having fallen asleep slumped down next to the blankets I had lain across the hard-packed dirt floor the previous night for Eren to sleep on. I watched him carefully as I began trying to stand and begin working out the cricks in my back and neck, relieved to find that he was still asleep and hadn't yet discovered the slip in my usual defense against the primal urges that took over my body during my heat. It was always worse the final day, always the hardest day to get through without jerking off at least once, but now, with Eren here...

I had told him that if we tried to... Have a child, if he agreed to going that far with me, for me, for everyone who wished for an end to the animosity between our races... I had told him that my reasons for agreeing would be different. I was selfish, so selfish, and would gladly lock my chosen mate away from the rest of the world, so setting aside the goal of uniting two races that there had been friction between for millennia was easy. I didn't want to have a child with Eren simply to use it as a political pawn, and so I promised him that it would be the last thing on my mind if he agreed to bear the desired child. It would be easy, so easy, because I was so selfish.

Putting aside my heat, however... It was harder. Never before had I had to go through heat with someone I desired so close, had their scent envelop me, suffocate me, and I wasn't sure if I loved or hated the feeling. Perhaps I would've enjoyed it more had I not promised Eren that I would set aside the animalistic urges my heat gave me alongside the idea of using the child politically, had I not promised something I hadn't realized the difficulty of until I reached this last day. 

Still... I had to put this aside. The burning desire, the need that was causing my mind to go fuzzy at the edges... I had to overcome it, because even without my promise to the brunet I couldn't bring myself to do anything to him just because of the animalistic urges my heat gave me. He meant more to me than that, and there was no way I could deny that any longer by simply excusing the insistent need to have him close by saying he was my hope for happiness. He was my happiness, and I wouldn't let myself hurt him just because the burning that spread across my entire body became too strong.

I stood up stiffly, torn between staying by his side to ensure he wouldn't wake up alone when he had confessed how much he hated doing so and finding somewhere private I could try to sate my heat enough that I could stay close to Eren when he woke up and undoubtedly needed some sort of physical reassurance that everything was alright. Hanji hadn't returned the previous night, most likely back at the palace attempting to fuck up nature again with the hopes she could find a way to negate the effects of the stone that kept us from warping, so I could assume that there really wouldn't be anyone to comfort Eren if he needed it when he woke up, and I found myself gritting my teeth and siting back down slowly as I began trying to will my boner away with thoughts of large eyebrows and a pair of stupid glasses that looked like goggles. Eren was still sleeping peacefully, oblivious to the world around him, and I sighed before leaning towards him slightly to brush away the hair that had fallen into his eyes.

Last night there had been an unspoken agreement not to fulfill the promises either of us had made, along with the quiet reassurance from me that I wouldn't force him to go through with what he had agreed to until he was ready. Most vampires spent over a year with their chosen mate before proposing that they had a child, so to suggest such a large and in all honesty painful thing only a few months after I had chosen Eren was not something he could easily adjust to. I hadn't said a word to him last night about how quickly the end of my heat was coming, so he remained unaware of the time limit on our agreement and our ability to attempt at a permanent peace between the two races, and I didn't plan on forcing him into anything if it seemed like we would run out of time. While I wasn't particularly fond of the idea, we could wait until my next heat, but it was a shitty idea to wait a year if we were only approaching this subject so soon because we needed a way to end the aggression and rebellion that had been started.

I was torn from my thoughts when Eren stirred, all my senses immediately attuned to his every breath, and I let out a tired sigh as his scent grew stronger as he woke up. After so much time spent sorting through thoughts about how I would set aside any primal urges that threaten to consume me, it was much easier said than done, and I found myself siting stiffly as the younger vampire let out a low groan before slowly opening one eye to peer up at me.

"...Levi?" I hummed shortly, hands curled and nails digging into my skin to ground myself and halt the pressure in my abdomen at the sound of my name on his lips. This was stupid, so fucking stupid, that after centuries of overcoming these urges they would suddenly become so strong now that I had Eren...

"Who the fuck else would it be, idiot?" The brunet opened both eyes fully to study me for a moment, then closed them both once more before turning his back to me and curling into a tight ball as he murmured a sleepy response my way.

"Mikasa." I snorted, not responding to his answer as I was unsure if he was being serious or not. "Do you have food?"

"Not that you'd want." He had stayed true to his word and had fed from the blood bag I had given him last night, but the face he had made while doing so and the way he didn't bother to hide how much he needed comfort after made it clear it was hard on him still.

"Oh. Can you go get some?" I quirked an eyebrow despite knowing he couldn't see, not bothering to hide the hesitance in my voice when I next spoke.

"You want me to leave you alone?" There was pause long enough I almost suspected that Eren had fallen back asleep, but then he rolled over opened his eyes to meet my gaze.

"No." I nodded, expecting the answer, and forced myself to study the ground instead of his features. The burning of my skin only grew more intense, however, unaffected by my refusal to meet Eren's eyes and instead reacting to the scent coming off him that I had been so sure I had become immune to. 

I felt weak, having to struggle with the natural urge to find release, and I let out a frustrated sigh as I tried to distract myself by tapping out a nameless rhythm on the dirt floor. The silence between us was heavy with unspoken words, and the pressure was growing by the minute. What was I expected to do with him? Sit on my ass until he decided he had mentally prepared himself? I didn't want to force him, and I wouldn't, but when neither of us was willing to leave the other alone it was difficult to imagine what we would occupy ourselves with in the meantime. I glanced up when I heard Eren sit up, avoiding my eyes and instead picking at the blanket beneath him, and was suddenly under the impression that he felt similarly.

"Hey, Levi?" He looked up, and I felt myself stiffen further as he met my eyes. "What are we going to do? I mean, I know how sex works, I'm not an idiot, but I'm just... In just wondering what comes next, I guess."

"Mm. I'd keep protecting you, I suppose. You'll keep eating human food, I'll force feed you blood when I have to, and Commander Eyebrows will give me some other task even though I'm the one that's supposed to be giving him orders." I sighed, moving my hands behind me to lean back slightly. "And when... When it comes time, we'll take care of the little shit, and you'll probably come up with some god awful name for them. We'll have to figure out how to let them play in the sun..."

I trailed off, but there were no other words that had to be said anyway. Eren hadn't taken his eyes off mine, though his hands had clenched into fists as he listened. He bit his lip, and I felt a jolt of irritation as I once more had to avert my gaze.

"It won't be so bad..." I glanced back up at him, one eyebrow raised, and he turned his head to the side slightly as his cheeks began to flush. "The name, I mean. You'll have to agree to it, too, so it won't be too bad..." There was a heartbeat of silence before I felt my expression soften and muscles relax somewhat, and I sent the younger vampire a soft smile.

"I suppose it won't be." Eren nodded, though I had a feeling the action was directed towards himself, and I let the smile linger on my face as I watched him. That idiot... He could be an ass sometimes, but it was in the quiet moments like these that I appreciated his presence. It was in the way he spoke without much of an edge to his voice, the way he flushed easily, the way he met my eyes without fear. He truly did bring me the happiness hat I had hoped he would, and the sentimental side of me whispered promises in the back of my mind that our child would do the same. Our child...

"Levi? You okay?" I squeezed my eyes shut, shifting slightly as I tried to banish the thoughts that had snuck up on me as I thought about what our child would be like. It had been one of the first times I had admitted to what it would be, had called it something more than just 'it' or 'them', and the shock had brought on another wave of burning heat that urged me on to obtain the goal I had given a name to. "Levi? You look a bit flushed..."

"I'm fine." The words were strained, and I knew without opening my eyes that he wasn't buying it. I sighed, giving up, and curled my nails into the ground as I spoke next. "It's my last day in heat."

"O-oh... You can... You can tell?" I sighed, resigning myself to explaining this to Eren, and cursed my heat for driving me towards this.

"The last day is the worst." There was a pause, then Eren's hesitant words:

"The worst...?" I snapped my eyes open, extremely frustrated in more ways than one and not particularly happy to find that the brunet had leaned slightly closer.

"As in, 'I really need to fuck someone', idiot." The taller boy jerked back, eyes wide and face bright red, and I cursed under my breath. "Shit, wait, I'm sorry... I'm not saying you have to do anything, you just asked me to explain-"

"It's okay." The tone of his voice was what halted my words sooner than what was actually being said did; the resignation and understanding so familiar, so easy to distinguish... It was a tone I had used too many times to count when I was comforting the taller vampire, reassuring him... "It's okay, Levi. If its your last day, we have to... Um. You know." I took a moment to pause, closing my eyes and trying to will away the suddenly very prominent boner I had thought I had gotten rid of, but it was hard with what was being said. He was giving me permission to act on my urges, to take him now, yet I couldn't- not until I knew for sure he was really okay with this.

"Eren, you really don't have to- we can wait, if you're not ready then don't push yourself-"

"We can't wait, though, can we?" I snapped my mouth closed, lips pressing into a thin line, and Eren sighed. He was right, and he knew it. "It'll be too late in a year, this generation will already bear a grudge against vampires. If we want to unite both races, it has to be done now."

"Eren..." I reached out, using the tips of my fingers to tilt his head up to look at me. "I know. Why wouldn't I know that my kingdom was on the brink of falling into an even bigger shit than the one it's already in? I know, but I want you to answer me honestly, Eren..." I paused, waiting for his eyes to lock with mine, then continued, voice lowered slightly. "Do you want this?"

He inhaled sharply, and as if just coming to realize how close we were I withdrew my hand quickly, the tips of my fingers tingling where they had come into contact with the younger vampire and the whispering in my head urging me to follow my instincts slowly growing louder. I couldn't let myself get out of control, not when Eren was so close...

"I- no. I mean... Not when you put it like that. I don't want a child just because a species I used to be a part of is trying to hunt down the one I'm a part of now." He paused, searching my eyes for... For something, and after a moment I think he found it, because when he spoke up next there was an undertone to his voice that made me shudder, and not because of my heat. It was... It was affection, caring for me and whatever he had found in my eyes, and for the first time that morning I had to hold myself back from kissing the brat senseless instead of just fucking him. "But yesterday, you made it clear that that wasn't what you wanted, either. You said that if I agreed you'd be agreeing because you... Well. Um. Not because Hanji told you to."

I let out a breathless chuckle, trying to mask the way I could feel my cheeks tinting pink with a hand coming up to cover my smile. How could I not smile, when he spoke of my barely-there confession with such a kind tone? He sent me a lopsided grin, as if reading my thoughts, and I averted my eyes as he continued.

"So... I don't think you'll let anyone use a child we have together as some political pawn. You may not be great at expressing it, but you do care, and that's reassuring." The brunet went quiet for a moment, as if struggling with how to word what he wanted to say next, and I looked up to meet his eyes again just as he started up speaking again. "I know I'll want it eventually, Levi. I don't know when, but I know I will. This will just be... It'll just be a bit of a head start, okay?"

"Shit, kid..." I wasn't sure if I was saying it out of exasperation or something terrifyingly more like happiness, but it was all I could say in that moment. I think he knew it, too, because he just kept giving me that stupidly perfect lopsided grin, and I once more had to take a deep breath and dig my nails into my the palms of my hands to keep myself from doing something I'd regret later. Suddenly it was impossible to hold his gaze, and I found myself clearing my throat once and then a second time, and even then I couldn't say anything.

I could move, though, and I found myself reaching out to the taller vampire, cradling his face with one hand and my other hand resting on his shoulder as I moved myself closer, pulling myself up onto my knees so that I was eye level with Eren. I hesitated, there, leaning towards the brunet ever so slightly, waiting for him to push me away, to ask me what the hell I thought I was doing, but he didn't. He was still grinning, though the expression had faded slightly, and he did nothing to stop me as I leaned closer still, close enough our breath mingled and I could see the splay of each individual eyelash. I heard his breathing hitch, and paused again, once more waiting to be pushed away, and once more only received a silent approval as he did nothing but look at me. 

I think part of me wanted him to reject me before I got too close, but wasn't I already? Close enough that I could see the flecks of gold in the brunet's Caribbean eyes, close enough my skin felt like the fire that licked at it would never be put out for it was too intense. Still though, I needed to he closer, and at the same time I needed him to tell me to stop. Maybe I just needed him to acknowledge what I was doing, rather than just sit in silence.

Yet still... I felt myself tear my eyes away from his lips and instead crane my neck upwards to press my own lips against his forehead, ever so lightly, only for a moment, pulling away the next second and trying to retreat completely. I hadn't let myself do anything else, I couldn't, not when I had already promised not to give a name to the feelings I felt for him until he was ready to hear it. I shuddered, overwhelmed by the crushed feeling in my chest and the heat that encompassed my being, trying desperately to get away from the younger vampire before I did something reckless, but there were arms wrapped around me and pulling me closer instead, and I flinched when our noses crashed against each other painfully.

Eren was still looking at me, silently, assessing me, and I felt powerless under his gaze, in his arms, held gently but with a firm edge that told me he wouldn't let me go without a fight. My breathing was noticeably louder than his, faster, and I knew that my face had to be a ridiculous shade of red right now. I had made a fool of myself in front of who was perhaps the only person who could humiliate me completely, and I hated the feeling of failure it brought. Vaguely I registered that his mouth was moving, forming quiet words, but what those words were didn't reach me until it was too late.

"You missed."

He was kissing me, kissing me in the way I had stopped myself from kissing him, lips pressed firmly against mine and waiting for my approval. It took a moment for me to collect the thoughts that he had effectively scattered, but by that time it was too late for me, too. 

I was kissing back.

My hands moved back to tangle in his hair, pressing him closer as he drew me in ever closer as well with the arms wrapped around me, and I was struck with the unmistakeable feeling of being protected, held away from the eyes of the world as the younger vampire sheltered me with his embrace, and the feeling was blissfully unfamiliar. We were a mess, noses bumping still and teeth scraping together, but we refused to separate, and I refused to consider the possibility that he didn't want this. He had been the one to press our lips together, he had been the one to accept the small kiss I had given him and requested more, he couldn't tell me after this that this wasn't what he had wanted.

I found myself fighting a smile.

I was breathless when we finally pulled away from each other, both of us were, and I felt myself pitch forward to hide my head in the crook of his neck as we desperately tried to catch our breath. The brunet's fingers were digging into me painfully, but I made no move to stop him, the slight pain an anchor as instinct crashed with emotion. I was so stupidly happy right now, wanting nothing more than to kiss him again, but my heat disagreed, and told me to do more than just kiss. I wanted it to shut up, to go the hell away, but with the object of my desires pressed so close it was impossible to do so, so instead I sat half in the younger brunet's lap as I fought an internal war.

I felt rather than heard Eren let out a content sigh, and I shifted so that I was resting my ear on his shoulder and facing his head instead of pressing my nose into the crook of his neck, watching his profile as he raised one of the hands from my back to run his thumb over his lips. He looked down at me at hearing my involuntary chuckle, sending me a small smile that seemed almost shy.

"Don't tell me I've just stolen your first kiss away, brat..." It was almost comical how red his face turned, the smile gone instantly to be replaced with shock and mild uncomfortableness, and I raised an eyebrow at his silence. "Oh? I never took you for the type that would save even their first kiss just because you were supposed to have a soul mate out there somewhere."

"Well- that's not- I mean..." I'm not sure if he meant to say more, but whatever was racing through his mind at that moment was lost, because right then I laughed- really, truly laughed for the first time in a long, long time, and when I had finally managed to calm down he was looking at me in wonder. I was still resting my head against his shoulder, my arms looped loosely around his neck, and for once it was me that smiled at him. Not a smirk, not an upturn of the corners of my lips... I was perfectly happy, so I stopped fighting the grin that was creeping up on me and simply smiled up at the brunet making me feel so ridiculously giddy.

"We sure do end up sitting in each other's laps a lot, huh, kid?" He laughed, then, too, the happy and untouchable feeling surrounding us making us feel impossibly hysterical, and he nodded.

"Yeah, we do. I don't really mind." I hummed, still grinning, and absently wondered if I would even try to stop my joy from showing if Hanji or Erwin showed up. Hell, Humanity's Council could swing in through the windows and I'd probably still have a shit-eating grin on my face, but at that moment I didn't really care.

"Good." The single word said so many things, reassuring him that I didn't mind either, promising him we'd end up like this again one way or another whether we wanted to or not, and he hummed shortly in response.

And it was in that moment he shifted and froze, and a feeling of mortification seized hold of me when I realized he had brushed his leg against my groin and was painfully aware of my boner.

We were silent a moment, and I found myself turning my face to once more hide in the brunet's neck, somehow ashamed though I knew there was nothing I could do to stop my heat's effects. It was natural, unstoppable, yet still I felt my face take on an uncomfortable warmth. Fucking hell, why me? Why did my life always go to shit when I finally got a taste of happiness? It wasn't fair, wasn't-

Eren was laughing. 

Loud and unrestrained, almost an echo of my laugh previous, and I felt his grip on me tighten slightly. He was shaking violently, his laughter vibrating in my ears, and unconsciously I began to reform the smile that had been plastered across my face before. This was all so stupid, to be laughing at a horrifyingly embarrassing thing and still be planning on fucking as soon as we calmed down, and we both knew it. It didn't matter, though, and I didn't have to apologize for Eren to begin brushing away anything that would need forgiveness.

"Guess that was nature's way of telling us to hurry the fuck up, huh?" I snorted, finally pulling back and running a hand through his hair once before dropping my arms to pull back, but before I could get too far, the younger vampire had shot out a hand to grab my wrist. "Um... I just... I was thinking that... That maybe I would let you, um, warp. Me. Us. Warp us." I quirked an eyebrow, and he took a shuddering breath before continuing. "I just, uh, didn't think here would be... I didn't want to, um, get... To get, uh, naked. In a shack. Like, uh, this."

"Excellent use of the english language, brat." He sent me a sheepish grin, but I was already smiling back, a softer smile now as I rolled my eyes. It seemed like this kid just couldn't let me stop smiling, and already my cheeks were starting to ache from the continuous pull of my lips. I didn't really mind, though, because it mean I was happy, a feeling I had been searching for for centuries, a feeling I had put off ending negotiations with humanity for in the hope that I could find happiness in one of them. Eren wasn't human anymore, but the bliss I felt now... It was beyond even my fantasies of what being happy would be like.

Perhaps it was just my heat, enhancing my every thought about the taller vampire, sending jolts through my body every time I moved my lower half. Or maybe it was simply because I had underestimated what being happy would feel like, had confused it with other emotions, and was now awestruck as I was faced with the real thing. However... It was far more likely that it was because I wasn't just happy. I was happy, too, but...

I was so, so, irrevocably in love with this little shit named Eren Yeager.

"Mm. It's pretty damn filthy in here." Eren grimaced, glancing around and nodding slightly, and I sighed, once more moving closer to the brunet in a way I hoped looked casual and not completely desperate to make contact with the idiot again. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"I'll have to be." I let out a heavy breath, startled slightly when the younger vampire's arms wrapped around me once more and dragged me the remaining distance to tuck my head under his chin, and hummed a short note as I felt him bury his nose into my hair. When he spoke his voice was slightly muffled, but feeling the vibrations of his words made up for my impatience with being unable to hear them perfectly. "Just do it, okay? I don't want a warning. I'm just going to pretend I'm right here, there's nothing happening, I won't-

I warped us then, hands clutching at the fabric of his shirt and silently praying he wouldn't fall apart.

"-FUCK! Oh my god, you warped me, I was warped, fuck...." I pulled away quickly, grabbing his chin and tilting his head so he met my eyes, my other hand trying to discreetly find his pulse.

"Eren, you need to ground yourself. You're okay, you're in a familiar environment, no one can hurt you. I won't let anything happen to you, okay? I'm right here..." His pulse was erratic, speeding up one moment as his eyes widened and flicked around and lowering slowly once he had fixed his eyes back on me, his breathing short and quick. I grit my teeth, partly irritated that I had to deal with this again, this fear that I'd lose Eren again, and absently I decided that punching the shit out of a wall might do me good later. "Now focus on my breathing, okay? I want you to match your breathing with mine, that's the only thing that matters right now. Just watch me, okay?"

He nodded, small and quick and barely perceptible, and I brought the hand that had felt for his pulse up to run through his hair slowly, keeping all my movements slow and quiet, everything slow and quiet, Eren would make it through this, he would. He had to, because I couldn't believe anything else. 

"You're strong, Eren..." His eyes weren't so wide now. His breathing slowing down slightly, and I sent him a small smile when he finally managed to match his breathing with mine. "You're okay. You're okay."

"I'm okay..." I nodded, and then suddenly Eren was laughing, loud and clear and somehow different than before, and his eyes shone when he looked back down at me and grinned. "I'm okay! I did it! I did it, I did it... Holy fuck... I did it..."

"That you did, brat." I began to stand up, offering a hand to help the brunet up and pulling him to his feet when he took it, eyes darting around the room I had chosen. Someone had been making sure that it was clean, still, bed made and surfaces free of dust, and I made a mental note to find someone to thank for that later.

"You chose our room?" A jolt of... Something, something that felt suspiciously like an even greater happiness than what I had felt before was racing through my body at his words, and never had I thought that someone tacking on themselves to the possession of one of my things would make me so thrilled.

"Mm. That a problem? We can find somewhere else, if you'd like..." He shook his head, letting out a tired sigh and moving towards the large bed, flopping down on his back across it as he answered.

"Just so long as no one shows up trying to kill us, I'm good." I nodded, remembering the look of terror that had been on the brunet's face the night he had woken me up and we had found ourselves face-to-face with someone, and began walking towards the bed as well.

"If someone does show up, I'll keep you safe." Inwardly I knew I'd have to warp us, as the thought of killing someone in front of Eren repulsed me and would probably bring him greater turmoil than warping him would, but if I told him that now he may grow wary, which was the last thing I wanted. It was true that we had had our share of intimate moments together, but I also knew that this one would easily take the cake, and I wanted Eren to be relaxed for it.

"Okay. I trust you." The words were said so simply, as if they didn't even matter, but I knew they did, knew it the second they were said and the taller vampire locked eyes with me, and I froze for a moment where I was standing above him next to our bed. After a long moment of heavy silence, though, I nodded, once more finding the corners of my lips being tugged upwards in pure happiness, and Eren echoed the expression wordlessly.

"Thanks, kid. If it's any reassurance for what's about to happen, I trust you, too." He hummed, seeming to be considering what I was saying, and I waited to move any more until he had nodded just slightly, as if giving me permission to do so. As he did he began to shift himself, too, kicking off his shoes and dragging himself up to lay properly in the bed with his head on one of the pillows and his arms on either side of him, his eyes fixed firmly upwards as I slowly removed my own boots and raised my hands to grasp the end of my shirt, pausing before beginning to lift it up over my head. "Are you sure you're okay with this?"

"I'm fine, old man." The tease seemed to be tacked on as his own form of reassurance, telling me that things weren't so serious that we couldn't tease, that we couldn't smile or laugh, and I was incredibly grateful for it. Perhaps what we were about to do would take the cake for the shit we had had to do before either of us would normally be ready, but it would be okay. We'd live through it, as we always did, and when we got to the end we'd probably somehow end up with one of us half in the other's lap. It was okay. 

We were okay, and I had never been more appreciative of that fact.


	42. Chapter 42

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren and Levi proudly dedicate themselves to a porno.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS THE SMUT CHAPTER and there is literally no plot so feel free to skip of you want XD

Levi's POV

I didn't say anything as I took off my shirt, folding it neatly and placing it on my nightstand for me to deal with later. Socks and pants went next, folded carefully as well, but I hesitated once more once I was down to my underwear. It wasn't like he was even looking at me right now, his eyes still firmly trained on a spot above him, but still I felt ridiculously self-conscious. It didn't even matter, right? This was fucking stupid, it didn't matter...

But it did, somehow, and I had to force myself to crawl onto the bed with Eren. He glanced my way as the bed dipped, but his head quickly snapped back to once more stare at the ceiling after his gaze had danced over my chest down to where I was still obviously sporting a boner. For all my teasing of the younger boy, I was honestly slightly clueless as to what I needed to do right now, lost in thoughts that were unfamiliar and wary about how he thought of me, and so for the first time this past week I sighed and let go.

I let my heat guide me, let it place me above Eren, hands on either side of his head and knees on either side of his hips, let it drink in the sight of how red Eren was and how he looked as he bit his lip and averted his eyes. 

I paused, then, once more fighting my heat, and leaned down to whisper into the boy's ear: "It's okay, Eren. I'm here."

It was all I needed to say to make him relax, make his body go limp and his eyes flick back up to meet mine, and I let myself dip down once more to place my lips against his, staying perfectly still for a few seconds before pulling back, sending him a half-guilty smile as I silently confessed to indulging myself. He let out a breathy laugh, though, and simply threw an arm around me to drag me back down to kiss him again. When I pulled away we both held slightly sheepish expressions, but I was happy, and as I let my heat take over again I knew Eren was, too.

I moved my head down to the crook of his neck, such a familiar spot, so frequently where I nestled my head and buried my nose and hid from the world. My lips traced the skin there, now, placing small kisses across the skin until I got to his collar bone, where I paused, and, after a moment, nipped at the skin harshly. 

It seemed almost like I was watching the scene between us unfold, someone who was letting autopilot take over control and perfectly content with just watching the show. Eren let out a high pitched squeak, body tensing again, but as I began to lick at the spot I had bitten he slowly returned to laying limp beneath me. Once he was more relaxed I moved on, grazing my fangs across his throat and fighting an urge I had never known would be so strong. It was true that most vampires bit their partners during sex, but I wasn't about to return Eren to the hell he had been in before from being bitten. True, this would be different, and I would stop myself from feeding on too much of his blood, but... I didn't yet trust his mental state to survive it. Not yet, at least.

His breathing hitched as one of my hands slipped underneath his shirt, not doing anything yet, simply resting on the skin there with my thumb slowly caressing what I couldn't yet see. My other hand pushed me back up, however, and I was able to find enough self control to pause and meet his eyes to receive a silent permission before I began removing his shirt. 

Even through my heat, the sight caused my cheeks to flush, though I knew he wasn't nearly as muscled as I was. That wasn't what mattered right now, though, and I was instead faced with the feeling that the Eren I was looking at right now was completely unarmed, helpless should I do anything from bite him to smile at him. He truly did trust me, and the thought made my chest ache and I paused to place another kiss on the side of the brunet's jaw, trying to silently thank him for everything he was.

He shuddered at the touch, eyes flickering shut as one of his hands came up to thread his fingers through my hair, lightly brushing against the bristle of my undercut in an unsaid acknowledgement of my appreciation. I let out a long sigh at the feeling, content with simply staying like that forever had my heat not been pushing me forwards with the primal urges that threatened to consume me completely if I gave them too much control.

Slowly, slowly, I moved down, letting Eren's hand slip from my hair as I began undoing his pants. I glanced up at him before I began tugging them off, however, once more giving him a chance to back out, but once more he said nothing, and once more I continued. I pulled his underwear off with his pants, not wanting to deal with the near-awkward feeling of taking off the clothes of a newly turned vampire with a knack for making me smile more than I had to, and moved on quickly to strip down the rest of the way myself so we were even. The last thing I needed right now was to make him feel to vulnerable, too weak to do anything about his situation, and I knew that especially for humans appearing ass-naked in front of someone else was incredibly baring both physically and emotionally. It was true I had seen the kid without clothes before, but this was different, so incredibly different, and I wasn't so stupid as to think I could get through this without recognizing that.

I paused, then, hovering over the brunet with an aching hard on and trying desperately not to look down to where he was half hard himself, and managed to speak once more without completely dying from either the odd embarrassment or the pain my heat brought me or both. "This is your last chance, Eren... Do you want this?"

The answer didn't come right away, and once it did, it didn't come in the form of words. Instead there was a soft nod, expression set and determined, and he shifted so that his legs were spread just slightly. I hesitated before nodding, and dipped my head down once more to press a small kiss to his forehead. I would admit later to indulging myself, taking every opportunity to steal another kiss from the taller vampire, but until he spoke up against it I wouldn't stop. I didn't know if I'd ever get another chance, so I'd make the most out of what I got.

I kept a bottle of lube in my nightstand for times when I was in heat, knowing that it made my life a whole hell of a lot easier once I got around to the last day, so I reached for it now and silently thanked my past self that I didn't have to go far to get some. Eren had once more returned his gaze to the ceiling, and I waited until he had looked to meet my gaze before moving myself to rest between his legs, somehow feeling as if I had to avert my eyes from the taller vampire's dick and ass when that was where I was supposed to be headed. I sighed, pausing a moment to look up and run my eyes over his chest and arms, his neck, anything that was exposed, and told myself this was no different. It was simply more exposed skin, and I was being a fucking wimp right now. My heart shouldn't be beating so quickly, so loudly, my hands shouldn't be shaking from a mixture of anxiety and fear and happiness and natural urges, my head shouldn't be buzzing from more than just my heat.

But it was, and hadn't I already told myself why? It was because this shitty brat was Eren, the first person to have ever so easily slipped through my defenses, the first person to have ever so easily took hold of my heart and kept it as their own. I knew it, yet here I sat trying to fool myself otherwise, trying to tell myself that I didn't know what these emotions were, and I was sick of trying to play the part of oblivious. I had no idea how Eren felt right now, if he was only putting up with me because he thought I needed it, thought the two races needed it. But I...

This was intimate, for me. This was a moment I was defenseless, a moment I got to see the younger vampire defenseless, a quiet moment we let the other in to places we'd never let anyone else. This was special to me, so fucking meaningful that every one of my movements was questioned, whether it was me or my heat that had driven me to do it. Maybe it had been both.

Now I was squeezing some lube out onto my fingers, wincing at the feeling but pausing to completely coat three of my fingers and making sure it wasn't quite so cold before moving my hand down to the brunet's ass. My other hand went to wrap around his length, Eren inhaling sharply as I began to slowly stroke him until he had reached full hardness, biting his lips against any sounds that he would've let out and fingers curling into the bedsheets.

"You ready?" He nodded curtly, still not meeting my eyes, and I echoed the movement before slowly pushing in one finger into his ass, pausing every few moments to let him adjust and rubbing my thumb over the slit of his cock to distract him from the pain. Still, though, he let out a small whine, one that was distinctly from discomfort and not from any pleasure I may have been giving him.

I furrowed my brow, irritated that I was unable to bring my chosen mate the pleasure I was supposed to, and waited a moment more before slowly moving my finger in and out, curling it slightly before glancing up at the taller vampire's face and slipping in another finger. He winced, though whether he did it from the way he bit down harshly on his lip or from the extra finger stretching him I didn't know. I waited before moving again, once more only stroking his dick and hoping he wouldn't feel too much pain, and after a moment began slowly rocking my fingers again in and out of the boy. 

"Relax, idiot..." The words were muttered under my breath more than directed at said idiot, but after a moment I felt him follow my instructions and the muscles he had been keeping tense slowly relaxed. I found myself sighing with relief as I began moving my fingers slightly faster, scissoring them slightly to prepare him for a third, but I paused when he let out a low moan.

When I looked up at him he looked mortified, face bright red and eyes wide, and I realized with relief that the sound he had made had been out of pleasure and not pain. As I continued stretching him I focused on hearing that sound again, focused on making sure he enjoyed this, and was almost proud when he let out another quiet moan as I inserted a third finger. I had to move the hand that was still wrapped around his cock to his hip, holding him in place so he wouldn't buck his hips as he tried to push back against my fingers, and slowly he seemed to get over his embarrassment of what sounds he was making and became more vocal.

It wasn't until I curled my fingers just so did he let out a shout, though, the sound much louder than any of the previous, and I felt one corner of my mouth twitch up in a smirk as I began aiming for that spot, brushing against the bundle of nerves with every movement of my fingers.

"L-Levi... Please..." I hummed at his words, my cock twitching at the sound of how cracked his voice was and he heat of my skin increasing exponentially. His length was straining now, dripping ever so slightly and curved a little to the right. It was perfect, everything about this damn boy was perfect, and I sent him something close to a grin before removing my fingers.

At the loss of the three digits he let out another whine, this time not from discomfort or pleasure but instead from impatience, and I tried to be quick as I reached for he lube again and squeezed out some more onto my fingers before coating my length, giving it a few pumps before I had to stop lest my heat take me too far and I ended up getting off with just my hand. I paused to reach for some tissues to wipe off the excess lube from my fingers, grimacing at the feeling and not wanting to smear it on whatever I touched, and tossed the tissue and the now near empty bottle of lube in the general area of he wastebasket I kept near out bed before hesitating as I looked down on Eren.

He looked trapped. His face was red with embarrassment, biting his lip as if to stop himself from telling me to hurry the fuck up and get on with it, and his hands were curled into fists as he clutched desperately to the sheets beneath him. A wave of prickling pressure went through me at the sight, the primal urges that had been only whispers in the back of my head roaring at me now, telling me to take him now, to stop hesitating, but I couldn't. He looked trapped, caged between my arms and legs, and I hated it.

Without warning I flipped us over, the brunet letting out a surprised squeak and lurching forward onto my chest, and absently I thought that that had seemed like a much better idea in my head.

"Levi- what-" he cut himself off, sitting up ramrod straight, and I let out a small groan from the friction of how his ass had momentarily brushed against my cock.

"It's... You're in control, Eren. You can set the pace, stop if you'd like, okay?" I hesitated, then added: "I won't touch you."

He gave me an almost curious look before giving me a half smile, and I let out a sigh of relief. I had made the right choice, and the smile he had give me had told me that. He looked relieved, grateful for my words, and I let myself relax into the bed as Eren bit his lip and began trying to position himself over my dick. The first time he went down he missed, my length slipping between his cheeks and causing us both to let out small sounds that were a mixture of pleasure and irritation, and I moved my hand to help aim my cock and steady it, doing my best to keep my promise of not touching the younger vampire.

The second time he began to sink down he tensed up completely as the head of my cock nudged at his entrance, and I found myself whispering soft comforts that seemed so out of character yet fit right in with the otherwise silent room. If I listened hard enough I could hear a maid bustle past our room, hear guards barking orders outside, hear the low whistle of the wind, but I didn't bother. My mind was focused on the here and now, on the vampire slowly relaxing and lowering himself down onto my length and letting out a hiss of relief when he had taken it all in. He paused, giving us both time to adjust.

My dick wasn't overly large, wasn't anything to be bragging about, really. It was average in almost every way, and if someone were to think about it from an objective viewpoint then they would say that Eren's length really wasn't anything to talk about, either. Even so, what I did have was enough to make us both pause, Eren waiting for his body to accommodate the size and me trying almost desperately to calm down as the heat and tightness that surrounded my cock did nothing to sate my heat.

Gritting his teeth, the taller vampire slowly began rocking forward slightly, slowly, drawing a low hiss from me as I absently worried about the state of our bedsheets since my fingers were gripping then so harshly. There were so many conflicted urges clashing together in my mind, driving me towards madness, but the hardest thing was not to touch. 

I had promised I wouldn't, promised I wouldn't lay a finger on him as I let him have complete control, yet still I found my mind urging me to grasp his hips and start bouncing him in my lap, to reach up to caress his cheek and run through his hair, to flip us over and fuck him into the bed, to trail my fingers down to his stomach and run then over every square inch of skin that I could. It was almost painful having two urges that seemed so different in my mind, yelling at me to do something one way or the other, and there were times I wasn't sure what I ended up going through with, but I did know one thing: I never touched. I never broke that rule, not even as Eren began to increase his pace and become yet more vocal as I myself let out low grunts with each time he came down.

"F-fuck..." He leaned forward, hands resting on my chest as he used that leverage to push himself up before dropping himself down, pausing only for a moment before repeating the movement. His face was bright red, though whether it was out of embarrassment or pleasure I wasn't sure and in all honesty couldn't even try to reason out. 

My mind was near blank, fuzzy throughout and at times feeling completely dead, and I was left with purely physical and emotional urges and feelings. The constant friction built a pressure in my abdomen, growing and growing with every movement and sound, with every time I let out my own sounds of pleasure. The way his face was screwed up was almost regrettable, a dull ache in my chest complaining that I couldn't see his eyes, though a sense of pride that I had managed to make him feel so good made me want to grin, as if I hadn't smiled enough within the last hour.

"Shit... I'm close...!" The words seemed almost foreign though they came out of my mouth, a warning as I hurtled towards my end and silently prayed that he was as well. I didn't receive a verbal reply, though. Instead I was shocked when he grabbed at my hands, shoving them roughly towards his hips and sending me a look that spoke of near completion.

"Help me, nn... Help me you idiot!" They were the only words I needed to break the rules I had set for myself, hands gripping his hips almost hard enough to bruise as I slammed the brunet down at the same time I snapped my hips upwards. 

I inhaled sharply at the sensation as Eren let out a shout, and as I lifted him once more before bringing him back down with as much force as I could muster I knew I had hit his prostate as he screamed, nails scrapping against my chest and leaving glaring red trails as he came. The feeling of him tightening further around me, of his cum coming out in hot strands as some dirtied my stomach... It was too much, and I let out a shout of my own as I snapped my hips forward further and released my load. The brunet let out a low groan at the feeling of my cum inside him, slumping forward to rest his head on my chest, and I let out a long sigh as I forced one of my hands to come up to brush through his hair.

It was silent for a very long time before either of us could talk, heavy breathing taking the place of words and neither of us feeling up to moving. It was easy to tell Eren was trying to avoid looking at me, choosing instead to try and hide his face from me, though I could guess what was going through his mind. Though we were supposed to be mates, the kid hadn't even been kissed until today, and now had just had his virginity taken away as well. Not only that, but after giving up on keeping quiet he had made it quite clear he was enjoying himself through the noises he made, and while I was grateful for it I could see how he could get easily embarrassed.

All I could do was lie there, arms wrapped loosely around him as one hand tangled in his hair and raked through the brown locks, and hope I could get through to the boy that it was okay. I wouldn't judge him based on what had just happened- my mind had been too much of a mess to properly understand what had been happening anyway. If anything, I was just happy, happy from the events that had taken place before clothes had even been begun to be removed, happy from the trust I could now confidently say Eren placed in me.

"Thank you, kid..." He murmured out a sleepy response too slurred to be comprehensible, and though it was still early in the night I decided that sleep would feel pretty fucking amazing. I wasn't about to let us fall asleep like this, though, and I moved one of my hands to lightly tap his thigh. "Come on- let's get you cleaned up."

He groaned but helped me remove my softening cock from him, lifting him up and carrying him towards or bathroom as he reached up to loop his arms around my neck. He looked exhausted, both mentally as well as physically, and I didn't doubt it. I was careful as I began to run the bath, not bothering to wait for it to be completely full before stepping into it and beginning to use what water was there to wash away the cum from both our bodies. I winced at the mess slowly dripping out his ass, and was incredibly grateful when he didn't react much as I began cleaning there. I didn't have to wait or any other shit now that he had had my cum in him, so soon enough Eren would start feeling symptoms and, well...

"We're gonna have a kid..." His words were quiet and barely distinguishable from one another, yet still they rung clear in my ears. He didn't seem upset about it, nor happy. He just seemed... Accepting, and I was extraordinarily grateful for that rather than have to see him unhappy at the thought of what was to come.

"Yeah... We are." And then I moved on to slowly shampooing his hair, massaging his scalp and slowly washing it after a few minutes, and then there was conditioner and soap and slowly, slowly, I watched Eren fall asleep. I could tell he was trying not to, trying so hard to stay awake as I took a wet washcloth to soap him up gently before rinsing him off even more so, but he was too far gone to fast, and I didn't mind. 

I didn't mind as I was quick about cleaning myself up and taking the brunet back to bed, didn't mind as he subconsciously huddled into me as I wrapped an arm around him, didn't mind as he was unable to see me as I secretly pressed a kiss to his temple before I began to drift off to sleep myself.

No, I really, truly, didn't mind.


	43. Chapter 43

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren and Hange bring Levi to his knees with their teasing, quite literally. Levi takes advantage of morning kisses.

Eren's POV

 

I was awoken by harsh whispers at the door to our room, though what they were saying didn't immediately register. There was the soft freshness of the sheets, the pillow beneath my head that smelled too much like Levi to not belong to the older vampire, and a warmth that encompassed my entire being that wasn't from the heavy blankets, and those things seemed at first to be much more important. The smell of pancakes and bacon and orange juice lingered below the immediate scent of the Vampire King, and I let out a content sigh as I realized he had already brought me a human breakfast.

I curled myself into a ball before letting out a quiet hum, trying in vain to fit my entire body onto the small space the pillow took up, but after failing I stretched out and pushed myself into a sitting position, wincing as a sharp pain traveled up from my hips. 

Oh.

Right.

I felt my cheeks go impossibly red at the memories from the previous night, though to my surprise my embarrassment stemmed mostly from the thought of kissing the older vampire. It hadn't been unpleasant, none of it had been, and despite how humiliated I might be now I felt relieved that I didn't regret anything. One hand came up to absentmindedly rub at my stomach, thoughts drifting to the child I would supposedly have now, and after a moment I turned my head to look at the door to the tower we had slept in. Turquoise eyes clashed with silver almost instantly, and I gave the shorter vampire a small smile before I was able to take in the rest of him.

He was standing with his arms crossed, back to me and head turned to watch me as I slowly regained consciousness. Hanji was peering over his shoulder, obviously the one that had been conversing with the Vampire King when I had woken up, and she sent me a blinding grin when I caught her gaze. I had yet to say anything, not quite sure I would be able to without my voice cracking, and my eyes flicked back to meet Levi's when he cleared his throat, one hand coming up to rub at the side of his neck as he averted his eyes.

"Morning, kid. You, ah." He cleared his throat again, pausing to glare at the brunette in front of him when she let out a half-muffled giggle. "You okay?"

I nodded, studying the raven haired vampire as an expression of relief passed over his face before he returned to his usual emotionless self. Hanji was still grinning, though, and I wasn't surprised when it was her that spoke up next.

"Glad to hear it, kiddo! Now, what do you say about hearing about what comes next? I know it's a lot to take in, so we better start soon or else we won't get anywhere 'till you're ready to go into labor!" She cackled, and I winced at the harsh sound, much preferring to just enjoy the breakfast I had caught sight of waiting for me on my bedside table.

"I already said no, four-eyes. Leave the kid alone." I reached over to grab the tray and place it in my lap as I listened to Levi bicker with the glasses-clad vampire, content to just eat and watch from the corner of my eye as the Vampire King seemed to grow more and more defensive with every passing second.

"Come on, Levi! He's got to know! He won't get anywhere in life with you acting like he's made of glass, you know!" At Levi's responding growl I bit back a laugh, and at the strangled sound both vampires turned their attention back to me. I was quick to grab my juice and take a hasty sip to hide the grin on my face, and I wondered absently if I would be responding half as positively to such a situation had I not been on a sort of high from the all that had happened. After schooling my expression I set the glass down and returned to my food, trying to make it appear as if I wasn't enjoying myself as much as I really was as I spoke up, eyes still set on my food as I cut up more of my pancake.

"I don't know, Levi... She has a point. I should've been made aware of everything beforehand, though, so I knew what I was getting myself into and wouldn't regret anything..." The effect was immediate. Even without focusing my gaze on the shorter vampire I could tell from the brunette's cackle that he had paled considerably, and the profanities muttered under his breath were strained with panic.

"See, Levi? Even Eren recognizes how important this is! If I didn't know better, I'd say you're trying to ignore the fact that you'll be a parent soon..." I was quick to stuff my mouth with as much food as I could fit before I could burst out laughing, having glanced up at hearing Hanji's tease and caught sight of the Vampire King's expression. His eyes were wide and his muscles tense, and before I could look away he had warped out of my vision and I turned my head to find him at my side.

"It's not true! Fuck, I'm not..." He warped again, this time reappearing slightly further away, and I mentally congratulated myself on being able to keep my expression from betraying my amusement. "I don't regret it, Eren, I'm not going to just fucking ignore something as big as that, you know that, right? Out of all the shit I could ignore, I wouldn't- fuck, I mean, it's not shit, it's just-"

I lost it. I was thankful I didn't have any food in my mouth at the time, the panic and despair on the older vampire's face and the way he seemed to so obviously want to come closer but was terrified of doing so becoming too much. Hanji was already howling with laughter by the time I gave up on pretending to be upset with Levi, my giggles joining hers as confusion joined the mix of emotions present on the raven haired vampire's usually stony face.

"What the hell...?" I only laughed harder, tears beading at the corner of my eyes as I somehow managed to move the tray of half eaten food off my lap and returning it to my bedside table before sliding out of bed and tackling the Vampire King, ignoring the ache in my hips and clinging onto him as his hands came up to hesitantly return my embrace.

"You should've seen your face! Hah, it was so- fuck, it hurts..." I wasn't sure if I was referring to the pain from our bedtime activities previous or from laughing so hard, but either way Levi's grip became tighter and more like the familiar comforting hug I was used to. "You're an idiot, Levi..." I pulled away, sending him a grin as I continued. "I won't regret it, no matter what comes next. Don't look so panicked, alright?"

It took a few moments for the words to register with him, several seconds going by as he just stared at me. I was able to pinpoint the exact moment he realized we had been messing with him, and I almost started laughing again at how quickly his expression turned sour. I was shoved off him instantly, and I let myself fall to the floor as he flipped me off and started stalking away from me. "Fucking brat, I swear you're both morons with the brain of a bat, I'll kill you both, I swear I will-"

"The baby, Levi!" His mumbled string of profanities and complaints was cut short and instantly he had warped back to me, kneeling by my side with one hand outstretched towards my stomach and twitching as he struggled not to touch. His eyes were wide, face paling once more, and this time I wasn't able to hold a straight face for longer than a second before I burst out laughing again. The vampire still in the doorway had yet to quit laughing, though her cackles grew in volume at Levi's terrified response to my words.

It only took a moment for him to realize I had been messing with him this time, and his expression flickered from relieved to furious as he struggled to calm himself down. 

"Asshole! I was actually scared for the kid, you idiot!" I directed my grin at him, effectively freezing him where he was still kneeled by my side, and once more tackled my mate. I let myself get comfortable in his lap as he grit his teeth, obviously having difficulty not warping away when he knew he'd just take me with him, and I let out a content sigh as my laughter faded and I nuzzled my head into the crook of his neck. I waited for his breathing to even out before speaking up again, murmuring my words into the bared skin of his neck just as I felt his arms reach up to circle around me.

"Morning, Levi. Thank you for breakfast." He sighed, and with that exhale I felt all of the tension leave his body at once, his next words significantly lighter than his scoldings from before.

"Mm. It was okay then? If you wanted something else I could get it for you..." I shook my head, closing my eyes and letting my hands run over the bare skin of his shoulders, feeling my face heat up as it just registered with me then that neither of us were wearing shirts and feeling infinitely grateful that Levi had somehow managed to get me into a pair of baggy sweatpants last night.

"It was perfect, don't worry about it." He hummed, one of his hands coming up to run through my hair.

"Alright, then. I want you to feed on some of the blood you've been trying to avoid before you fall asleep this dawn, though, okay?" I sighed but nodded, and there was a moment of silence before he let out a quiet chuckle. "I told you we'd end up in each other's laps, didn't I?" My soft laughter joined his, but we both fell instantly silent and stiff as there was a loud cough from the other side of the room.

"Hate to break it up, love birds, but I really did have important things to discuss with Eren." Levi groaned as I let out a resigned sigh and began to stand up, arms locked around me and not letting me move off of him. His grip only grew tighter at my squirming, so after a moment I gave up and drew back my head to squint my eyes at him. His expression was one dangerously similar to a pout, and I felt a grin tugging at the corners of my mouth as I leaned forward and placed a quick kiss to his lips. He grew rigid at the touch, and I let out a breathy laugh and broke free from his embrace as he remained on the floor, shell shocked and looking as if he had no plans of joining me as I stood up. Hanji was watching from the doorway, still, and I began to motion for her to come in as I opened my mouth to apologize for my time in Levi's lap.

I didn't get even a single syllable out, however, my words transforming into a surprised yelp as the Vampire King grabbed my wrist and yanked me back down to the ground, cheeks just slightly pink and the only indication that he had finally processed that I had kissed him. He didn't hesitate before pulling me forward and crashing our lips together in another kiss, holding my head with one of his hands and his other releasing my wrist to wrap around my waist, and I found myself fighting a smile as I let my arms wind around his neck and I began kissing him back.

It was warm and wet and perhaps not as desperate as our kisses the night previous, but still I found myself struggling with the feeling that my cheeks and ears were on fire, and having to bite back a moan when he nipped at my bottom lip only added to my embarrassment. The morning was progressing in a direction far from what I had been expecting, Hanji's appearance interrupting any hopes I had had of spending the time as we woke up trying to work out what we were now. Part of me wondered if Levi even bothered with the same concerns I did, preferring to simply take what he could get since I had yet to let him know that I would be able to completely accept his feelings for me yet, and another part wondered if I had already accepted them. 

I knew I felt something for him, I had known it for a long, long time, and that was part of the reason I was able to agree to have a child with him. However... I also knew that whatever I felt was on a completely different scale than what Levi had hinted at feeling for me, affection and-dare I say it-love being too different to be compared to one another. I trusted him, yes, I cared for him, of course, but love? I sighed as we drew away from each other, both of us breathing heavily and Levi looking far too smug for anyone's good. 

"Guys..." The whine from Hanji shook me from my inner struggle with the emotions I felt for Levi, and whatever embarrassment that had faded away slightly was back as I realized that the Vampire King was standing up and giving the brunette a look that clearly said he didn't regret showing me off in front of her. I rolled my eyes and stood back up myself, cuffing him over the head and sending him a glare that I could tell he knew held no animosity behind it.

"Ah... Sorry, Hanji..." Levi snorted, crossing his arms.

"I'm not." I felt my face burn brighter still as I sent him another glare, but when the look of happiness hidden behind his usual monotonous expression registered I sighed and gave up on scolding him. He was always doing so much for me, too much, so I supposed there was nothing wrong with letting him have his way for once...

"Right... Well, as much as I'd love to let you two cuties suck face all day, Eren and I need to have a long, long, long chat." Despite my nonverbal reassurance from earlier she had remained in the doorway, and I found myself slowly growing uncomfortable at the thought of having to leave the room for whatever the brunette wanted to talk about. I jolted when I felt Levi brush our hands together lightly, but at the look on his face I relaxed. His eyes were set on the glasses-clad vampire, burning with an emotion that took me a moment to place as childish defiance, and he tilted his head up just slightly in an act I had come to recognize was one of challenge, a way to show off your fangs and your superiority.

He wouldn't let Hanji take me anywhere.

"Whatever the hell you want to tell him, you may as well do it." Hanji opened her mouth as she took a step back, obviously assuming she would have this talk without Levi listening in, and the shorter vampire let out something akin to a low growl. "I have every right to hear the shit you're spouting his way." He hesitated, some of defensiveness being replaced with pride. "I'll be the father, after all."

"Ehh... You'll have to promise not to freak out, then..." He raised an eyebrow, and Hanji shrugged. "I'm not sure how Eren will take it all, so you'll have to be ready to calm him down."

"I'm right here, you know..." The two vampires barely spared me a glance before returning their gazes to each other, and I sighed, resigned to letting them talk about my mental instability as if I weren't listening. It wasn't exactly a secret, anyway, and it didn't quite scare me as it used to. It was just... There. A constant threat, a reminder I could break down at any time, a restriction set upon all my actions and those of the people around me.

An obstacle to overcome, an enemy that I was so close to beating.

"What do you take me for, Glasses? Like hell I won't be able to support my mate!" I let out a heavy sigh, rolling my eyes at the shorter vampire. I had heard rumors that vampires got incredibly protective over those who bore their children, but to think that even Levi could act like this, without any real proof that our efforts had been rewarded...

"Well, if you say so..." Hanji hesitated, and absently I wondered if she was expecting the Vampire King to panic because of the new closeness between us that obviously hadn't been there before. She certainly acted like it, eyeing the way Levi had positioned his body to almost shelter me from her gaze and the way I didn't flinch away when he leaned back almost imperceptibly and his hair tickled my chin. Honestly, the thought of being scared of such innocent brushes against each other made me want to laugh, the intimacy between us just a few short hours ago nearly eliminating any hesitant thoughts I had held before hand. He wouldn't hurt me, he wouldn't leave me, he cared for me.

He loved me.

I couldn't continue fearing his touch when I knew that, could I?

"It'll be fine, fucktard." I could almost sense the glare the Vampire King directed towards the eccentric vampire, and I glanced back towards said brunette for a moment to attempt at silently conveying a plea to not drag this out any longer. Already Levi looked about ready to burst, and it occurred to me that this probably wasn't how he had been expecting our morning to go, either. My eyes softened at the though, and I raised my hands to place them delicately on his shoulders, firmly enough to be noticed but not harsh enough he couldn't shake me off if he so desired.

"Levi... Calm down. She's just trying to help." Immediately his muscles relaxed and his shoulders slumped, and I myself found myself resisting the urge to tense up as he let his head fall back onto my chest.

"Fine..." The word was barely audible, grumbled out in an almost childish way, and from Hanji's snicker I could easily assume his expression reflected his tone. 

"Thank you... Now, what do you, um... What did you want to talk about? First?" I was lost when it came to what to expect from pregnancy, only what Levi had passed on to me about it being extraordinarily painful, so I was positive that there would be quite a long list of things to cover. Instead of Hanji grinning and launching into a long rambling explanation about the wonders of child birth, however, her expression grew serious, and I let my grip on Levi's shoulders tighten slightly out of sudden anxiety for what was to come next.

"Well, it isn't exactly about what's coming next in terms of your body but more so... Well, the world. It's unlikely just saying Ravioli finally got into your pants will bring about peace, so we won't be able to announce anything about it until we have positive results from a pregnancy test. That won't be for a bit, though, so until then we have to come up with something different." The room was dead silent for a moment, both Levi and I stiff and staring unblinkingly at the vampire who had just spoken. I was used to her being a bit of an oddity, but even I would rather have the topic of our possible future child handled with more care. Even so, I was the first to find my voice, and I managed to speak without my words sounding too strained.

"So you want me to do what, exactly?" Hanji finally stepped into the room, closing the door behind her, and I had to force myself to stop digging my nails into the Vampire King's shoulders lest there be permanent crescent shaped indents there as proof of my struggle to keep a neutral expression.

"Well, first thing's first: you need to let people know that you're alright. After you passed out in the park, Levi warped you back to your old apartment until Humanity's Council showed up with their goons. I posted a brief reassurance on your blog, but it would still do the public good to hear from you directly." I blinked, then blinked again.

"My what?" Sure, I had been an average teenage boy with a tumblr account and a twitter, but I doubted that even Hanji would hack into any of my accounts to send a message to the public.

"Oh, right! Back when we were attempting to start up the rebellion, I helped your sister set up a blog for you. It was just basic things, like a record of your pulse when I checked it and how your injuries were healing and a few pictures of you here and there, but it was enough to keep everyone aware of what was happening to you. Even if you were asleep, people knew you were alive, and, well, you already know that you're pretty much the face of this rebellion." I opened my mouth to splutter out a protest to that information being put on the Internet without my say, but before I could say anything I clicked my mouth shut and let out a long breath through my nose. There was nothing I could do about it now, and if Mikasa was on board then nothing too intrusive would've been included.

"Okay... So you want me to do another rally? I'd rather not..." Even the thought of it had my stomach churning and my body instinctively leaning towards the shorter vampire in front of me for protection, and for a moment I smelled a phantom metallic scent, a reminder of what had happened and the blood I had been forcefed.

"No no no! Of course not, silly! I just want to do a video, something quick and easy, that I can post on your blog so everyone can hear from you that you weren't killed by Humanity's Council. Levi should be in it, too..." At his name the older vampire shifted slightly, and it was only as he began responding did I realize how uncharacteristically silent he had been.

"And if I refuse? I'm not some fucking people pleaser, Four-Eyes. That sort of shit is best left to Eren." Hanji frowned, pushing up her glasses as she began speaking again.

"You don't have much of a choice, Levi... I was going to try and leave this out, but if you're not going to agree I'll have to spill the beans: you're not exactly popular, right now, Levi. I know I mentioned that there were those that wanted to throw you from power before after how violently you reacted to people accusing you of being about to hurt Eren in that park then, which wouldn't be beneficial in the least if we truly want you two to unite the two kingdoms and rule them both, but there's more to it, now." She hesitated, and I found my breath catching in my throat at her expression. Something had gone horribly wrong if she wore such a tired look, haggard and wary... "They want to take you away from Eren-"

"Fuck no!" Levi's words were loud and sharp, startling me with their abruptness. "There's no fucking way I'm going to just let some snot-nosed brats take Eren away from me!" I rushed to pull him around to face me, trying to tear his gaze away from Hanji so that I could reassure him that I wouldn't let anyone separate us, especially not when we were trying to raise a child together, but he snapped out two more words as his arms raised to loop around my waist. "He's mine!"

The words rung through the room, silent now save for the heavy breathing coming from the Vampire King, and I stood stiffly in his arms as he slowly began to calm down the suddenly loud beating of his heart. I couldn't remember ever being able to hear his heartbeat without having my ear pressed against his chest, and I wasn't sure if the sound comforted me or scared me away.

"...sorry..." The word was mumbled into my chest, his head turned to hide from the world, and it took me a long moment to realize that he was apologizing. For what? For his words I supposed, the words that were the first verbal claim he had made of me, and they were words that sent conflicted feelings to clash in my head.

Part of me wanted to let my cheeks color and my arms come up to return his embrace, wanted to bury my nose in his hair to hide my grin and whisper back a promise that yeah, I was. Another simpler part of me wanted to just let the words go, because hadn't I just been saying that the events between us previous were enough to rid me of any qualms I had towards the thought of being with Levi? Yet still...

There was a heavy feeling in my stomach, a weight that forced me to pull back and examine the shorter vampire's face. He looked guilty, almost, but the expression was overlapping with the clear one of pure possessiveness. Being possessive... It was a hell of a lot different from being protective, though at first glance the line between them may seem thin and easily overlooked. Protectiveness, that I could handle. It was almost cute, in a way, to see Levi get so defensive when my happiness was threatened by the smallest of things. Possessiveness...

I sighed, then looked back up again at Hanji, Levi still clinging to me almost desperately. "Is this... Um, is this normal?"

"The cold and aloof Vampire King acting this way? No. Though I have to ask... Levi, did you drink any of Eren's blood when you two were going at it?" The question seemed to startle both of us, though after a moment the raven haired king turned slightly towards Hanji before answering.

"No." The glasses-clad vampire sighed, rolling her eyes and throwing her hands up into the air. 

"Then bite him now, idiot, before you get sent back into another heat!" Silence. Another sigh from Hanji, and then she was speaking again, her words laced with a barely-there patience. "Come on, silly! I thought you claimed to have been related to the vampire who set us up with humanity! You've got to have known what to do with a mate when you're 'tying the knot,' so to speak. If you don't consume some of your mate's blood, your body won't recognize that you already did your part when it comes to getting them pregnant, and you'll be forced to go through another heat cycle. Unless you two had more fun naked together than I'm assuming, you'd best prevent that while you still can."

I had no words. What was I supposed to say, give Levi the green light and let him bite me right then and there? No, I couldn't, I couldn't, I couldn't let him bite me, it would hurt, it would hurt so badly... I was jerked from my train of thought when slim fingers were brought up to cradle my cheek, and I became aware of just how panicked I must have looked. Levi looked beyond concerned, but just as I began to relax again I caught his gaze flicker towards my neck and my breathing caught in my throat. He wouldn't, right? He couldn't, he had to know it would hurt me, he promised to keep me happy and healthy and safe...

"Eren..." I grew only more tense at the sound of my name, and the hand on my cheek moved to rest behind my head, his fingers playing with the tips of my hair. "Calm down. It's okay. It's okay... I'm not going to bite you."

The relief that went through me was tangible, and I knew Levi could tell. He wasn't going to bite me, he wouldn't hurt me, he wouldn't risk it. But then...

"What are you going to do?" The words were strained and quiet, a whisper meant only for him, though I knew that just because she was silent for the time being didn't mean Hanji wasn't watching and listening carefully.

"I'll figure something out, I'll-"

"You could always just draw blood." The words were thrown at us so causally, as if they meant nothing, but when my gaze locked with the Vampire King's I knew that wasn't the case. Her words were a way out, and Levi's eyes grew heavy with the weight of what was happening as he spoke once more.

"Is that okay?" I didn't answer right away, I couldn't. I needed to know for sure before I said anything, so instead I closed my eyes and thought about it. The needle piercing my skin, the blood being drawn, Levi feeding from that blood. My breathing hitched, but my heartbeat remained steady, and after a moment I let out a long sigh.

"I... Yeah. Yes. I can do that. You can do that." I trusted him, those were the unspoken words, but they didn't need to be voiced. Instead he just smiled, wearily, and I closed my eyes once more.

I trusted him.


	44. Chapter 44

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mysterious figure returns, and the fluff cushion that's been provided begins to vanish quite abruptly.

Levi's POV

 

Blood was drawn. Blood was fed upon. A second heat was avoided.

Somehow it seemed too easy, that one doubt hanging over me even as I struggled to keep my mind from hazing over as I finally got a taste of my mate's blood. I had gone into the bathroom to feed after Hanji had drawn some and put it into a glass for me, not wanting Eren to have to watch me feed even now, even after all we've been through together, and even more so not wanting him to see my expression when I finally got to do more than just smell his blood. That first taste had been bliss, a feeling of ecstasy pulling me under before I could prepare myself for it and my mind fading away from rational thought as the mere desire for more took hold of me. I had to stay in there, arms shaking as I tried to support myself against a pristine marble counter, waiting not at all patiently for the want and hunger to fade before I could face bright Caribbean eyes again.

And yet, even through this strangled torture and pleasure mixed together in such a shitty way, my mind entertained other thoughts outside of the immediate appraisal of Eren's blood, thoughts that were both sighs of relief and doubts that weighed down my movements. I was so fucking proud of the brunet for barely flinching when the needle he was poked at with was lodged into his flesh and kept there as a certain four-eyes freak filled a vial of crimson for me, so fucking pleased with him for feeding on the glass of blood handed to him in exchange without complaint, so fucking happy that he seemed healthy. I would almost smile, the corners of my mouth twitching upwards just slightly before the doubts and uncertainties came crashing down to cover the expression before it grew.

Surely this couldn't be it, couldn't be the end... How could it be? We had played the tragic heroes for so long now, and like hell it would be that easy to give up that part. In some ways, it was almost as if we weren't allowed to have a happy ending, and I was almost certain that this would count as one. Eren had almost completely regained his mental strength, the rebellion we had started was even still growing in size and power, and in the next room over my chosen mate was happy to mother the human child we both hoped for. Perhaps it was only paranoia, but the past literal war we had been put through would not let me fall so quickly into a sense of peace and security.

As I finally left the bathroom, however, I became so forcefully aware of Eren's presence, of his soft and almost not there breathing, of the lingering scent of his blood, and I knew then that even if I couldn't be lulled into a sense of safety, I could still be happy. The two, while connected, were not so strictly bound as to stop me from that, and if I would be allowed to steal more of the brat's kisses, safety be damned- I'd have Eren, and that would be enough.

"Took you long enough! I was beginning to suspect you of getting off on poor little Eren's blood, and if you had taken any longer I'd go in there and force you to let me observe how the scent of it affected how quickly you climaxed..." I wrinkled my nose up in disgust at the eccentric vampire's obvious disappointment in that she had not been able to do said observing, effectively dragged from the thoughts tangled up in my mind as I shoved the glass once containing Eren's blood towards Hanji.

"Fuck off, Glasses." A breathy laugh could just barely be heard under Hanji's obtrusive cackle, and I snapped my gaze over to look at the boy that had apparently wormed himself back into our bed to wait for me, feeling almost smug at the sight of the red dusting his cheeks and the tips of his ears. He sent me a small smile as our eyes met and I found myself returning the gesture, my chest ballooning with happiness in a way that was still foreign to me.

"It's okay, Levi, I promise not to take what Hanji has to say without a grain of salt." I snorted, beginning to walk over to Eren to hover next to the bed where he sat leaning against the headboard with the covers pulled up as high as they would reach.

"I'd suggest taking a whole fucking salt company, but somehow I suspect you'd just laugh me off." I rolled my eyes as he did just that, though truthfully I didn't mind. He was laughing, after all, and why would I protest that? "Any major developments during my oh-so-very-long disappearance?"

"Not much, just the possibility our child may have two heads. Oh, and some other king wanted me to be their mate; our wedding is next weekend." I gently lifted up one of the brunet's hands, raising it up as I bent down just slightly so that it hovered just a fraction of an inch away from my lips as I spoke next.

"Mm. I'll make sure to be ready for it. Though, I have to admit, I would've preferred a bit more warning, brat. Now I have to give up all those pretty lady vampires I've been seeing behind your back." The younger vampire tilted his head up just slightly, not yet bothering to remove his hand from my grasp.

"Oh? And why's that? If I'm the one getting married off, you'd be free to entertain all the pretty lady vampires you'd like." I smirked, finally pressing my lips against his skin and holding them there for a moment before pulling back just slightly.

"If the wedding will be next weekend, I'd simply have to push forward the one I'd have with you to this weekend. Then neither of us could fuck pretty lady vampires anymore, and this other king can go find his own damn pretty male vampire." Eren seemed torn between hiding his face in his hands and giving me a smirk, so he did an odd combination of both as he began to speak again.

"There are a lot of ways to compliment someone without having to talk about your imaginary girlfriends, you gay prick." I snorted in an almost failed attempt to stop the laughter in my throat from bubbling up, and finally Eren's expression seemed to morph into one more sure of himself.

"Who says I was complimenting you? 'Pretty male vampire' could mean 'pretty fucking annoying male vampire,' for all you know, kid." The taller vampire let out another soft laugh, a sound I was quickly realizing I had too easily grown addicted to, and Eren simply smiled at me.

"It could, but somehow I doubt that's how you meant it." I hummed shortly, not bothering to deny it, and the younger vampire smirked at me. "So what's this about a marriage this weekend? Seems to me this should've happened before you decided to bestow upon me the great honor of bearing your child." I snorted, half amused and half struggling not to reveal how easily I would agree to such an event should he actually be serious.

"You wish, brat. I'm afraid you'll have to remain just another pretty male vampire until I get a break from all the shit this rebellion is throwing our way." Finally I let his hand slip from my own, straightening as Eren let out his own thoughtful hum. I opened my mouth to tease him once more, but before I could say anything another voice was barging in front of my own, impatient and indignant.

"I can not even believe you two just joked about marriage in the middle of this big flirt-fest and then proceeded to brush it off like it was nothing. Do you have any idea how much we need a break from all this worrying? A wedding would be perfect! You guys could wear matching suits, unless Eren wants to wear a dress? Ohh, Levi will want Eren in a dress, so he'll wear a dress and hold the bouquet of flowers and let Levi carry him off into the sunset-"

"Hanji." She paused mid-rant, and I glowered at her as I managed to grit out a few more words. "Shut the fuck up." 

Eren had turned a particularly interesting shade of red, and though I could feel my own face heating up, I would not have some insane pile of bat shit fucking with the life I was determined to build with Eren. Sure, it was good to know that the younger boy wouldn't recoil in horror at the thought of our relationship becoming recognized as something more than just mates, but like hell I would let this happen without getting my cheesy proposal scene. And in any case, marriage was simply a legal thing- we were mates, mates that had bonded and had a better relationship than others I had heard of, and marriage would merely be the promise that we'd keep it that way.

There would be no point to false promises, however, and I knew Eren was still struggling to place his feelings completely. I felt the barely-there hesitance in his kisses, the way his smile had dimmed drastically when Hanji brought up his still slightly unstable sanity, and I understood. He truly couldn't make any promises about the future in regards to his feelings towards me, and I had accepted that. We would have a child, though, and he had sworn to stay at their side as their mother, and for now... That would have to be enough.

"It's, um... It's okay. Levi. I'm not... I'm okay." Eren's stuttering words dragged me back to the present, and I became aware of how intensely I must have been staring at the kid. He probably thought I was just making sure he wasn't about to have another panic attack, given his stammered reassurance, and I sighed before sending him a small smile.

"I know, kid." He furrowed his eyebrows, obviously about to inquire about why I had been looking so damn constipated just now if that was the case, but I straightened my back and turned to once more face a certain four-eyed freak and direct my words at her before the brunet still in bed could speak. "Let's just get that video shit done with. You said it was best to let the public know we were safe quickly, right?"

"Right! I warped back to my room to get the equipment while you were feeding on Eren's blood, so once I have it set up we can start!" Already she was beginning to set up a tripod in front of one of the few blank areas of wall in the room, a small but professional looking camera soon attached to it, and I watched with tired eyes as she began fiddling with the settings. "Luckily this baby is great in the dark, so we won't need to make you kiddies uncomfortable with some sort of artificial lighting. Now come over here, sillies, you two look ridiculous huddled over by the bed." Eren groaned, and silently I echoed the action.

"I don't wanna... Levi, next time we hide somewhere, can we bring our bed with us? Please? It's so much nicer than anything else I've ever laid my ass upon..." I snorted, mentally agreeing whole-heartedly as I bent down slightly to tear the covers away from the brunet.

"I'm sure that's the most practical solution." The words were drawled out dryly, and upon hearing them Eren made a face, causing me to sigh as I offered my hand to help pull the obviously still exhausted brat out of bed. "I'll see what I can do, idiot." He sent me a blinding grin and took my hand as he pulled himself up, letting me guide him to stand in front of Hanji's 'precious' camera as she finished screwing with the settings. 

"Okie-dokie! When the camera starts rolling, just say whatever you'd like to get the point across that you're okay and that your shortie over there isn't a viscous monster out to get you. Levi, try not to act like a viscous monster." I snorted as Eren let out a small laugh, but my attention was mainly directed not on the gleaming eye of the camera but the soft hand that still held on to mine, fingers quivering as they tentatively laced our fingers together. I squeezed his hand just slightly to let him know that the gesture was okay, more than okay, and then Hanji was once more tearing me from the constant thoughts of my chosen mate. "Camera rolling in three, two-" she made a motion to us that I guessed meant we were now being recorded, and suddenly the boy beside me was stiff and unbelievably awkward.

I sighed, bumping our arms together just slightly so that I had his attention before sending him a hopefully encouraging upturn of my lips that even I wasn't sure counted as a real smile. It seemed to do the trick, though, and soon Eren was clearing his throat and squeezing my hand hard enough to hurt as he began to speak.

"Um, hi guys! I know you haven't heard anything from me or Levi since I passed out during my last attempt at a public speech or rally or whatever that was, so I'm just letting you know I'm okay... I don't know what you heard, but I passed out because I hadn't been feeding like I was supposed to be, which is why Levi reacted how he did and basically shoved my fangs in his arm." He paused, seeming to consider which direction he wanted to go in, but soon the silence was once more filled with his nervous words. "I, uh. Um. I never really... Liked being a vampire. It was, well, scary. The thought of feeding on another's blood, even if they donated it willingly and I'm feeding from a glass... it repulsed me. Levi was always kind enough to never feed when I was around because of it, so I admit to... To deceiving him and my friends and family. I pretended to feed on what they gave me, and I'd end up pouring it down the drain, and I'm sorry, I'm so, so, so sorry for worrying them. And you guys, too, because you witnessed the result."

He took a shuddering breath, composing himself, and I was hit with the clear feeling that I was his ground in that moment. He needed me not to say anything, not to do anything, just to stand there and hold his hand and be his anchor. He had made it look so effortless in the park that night, speaking with fury and sorrow and barely stammering. He had hid it so well, this obvious nervousness, and I was overwhelmed with the urge to shield him from the camera just to make him more comfortable.

"After I passed out, though..." He glanced at me, almost in apology, and I quirked an eyebrow as he took a deep breath. "Sorry to ruin any impressions of the famously strong Vampire King, but he was terrified. And his fear scared me and I came to an acceptance of who I was, of what Tueur had done to me." He paused again, but I said nothing, a silent forgiveness for revealing my pressure points to the world, because honestly... I wouldn't be surprised if everyone knew already. Most vampires were scared shitless at the thought of losing their chosen mate when they knew they couldn't get another chance, and I was no different. "So... I started feeding. I still eat human food, still thank Levi for leaving the room when he needs to feed himself, but I'm not going to pass out again any time soon."

He swallowed thickly, and once more I bumped our arms together in a silent effort to calm him down. The contact pulled a long sigh from the you her vampire, and I found myself incredibly pleased with how easily I could change the kid's mood.

"But, um, recently, I heard that there are a lot of you guys who don't like Levi. You want him gone along with Humanity's Council; you're scared of him hurting me. I need you guys to understand..." His grip on my hand tightened, but he didn't remain silent for long. "Levi can not be hurt by you. If I hear that anyone has continued to try and throw Levi from power, or kill him, I'll stop. I'll stop doing anything to help you guys, because I would choose to stay by Levi even if it meant both of our executions. He's done so much for me..."

He looked down, his weary expression causing me to frown slightly. I studied him for a moment more, then sighed and spoke up myself, causing him to jolt slightly at my voice.

"I won't hurt him. I'm, uh, sorry. For yelling at whatever shits were blaming me of planning to kill Eren back when he passed out in the park. But... The kid's right. I was scared. I just wanted to seem him alive and happy, yet I was being accused of hurting him instead." I paused, letting my eyes harden as I looked into the camera. Whoever watched this needed to understand, needed to get this... "I will never hurt Eren. Out of everyone, he is the last person I would hurt." I paused a moment, wetting my lips. "Including myself."

Eren's head shot up, his eyes wide, but I had already turned my head to avoid his gaze. There it was, he knew now, everyone would know, and if they weren't useless pieces of shit they'd understand: I would not hurt Eren. Even if I had to sacrifice myself, he would remain safe. There were a few long moments of silence, and then Eren was pulling me towards him, camera be damned, and I let out a heavy sigh as he embraced me as if no once could see, as if the camera was off, as if Hanji wasn't watching us, oddly silent. His arms looped around my waist, his nose buried in my hair, and slowly I let my hands raise up to cling at the fabric of his shirt. 

I wasn't sure how long we stood like that, silence far better than words for a long time, and then slowly, slowly, the taller vampire pulled away, turning to once more face the camera. He cleared his throat, then cleared his throat again, and then finally he spoke.

"Please don't hate Levi. Please..." His voice cracked and he stopped, looking to me for help, and I reached for his hand to once more intertwine our fingers together.

"This shitty revolution isn't over. We need all the help we can get. However, if you find yourself disagreeing with our beliefs and requests, you're welcome to stop at any time." I paused, narrowing my eyes. "Vampires are already being killed, though. Executed by Humanity's Council after all this time they've held secrets above your heads. This is your chance to fight back, and you can do it any way you wish. Stop going to work, take out all your money from the bank, demand to only talk to a vampire employee when you want to go shopping. Anything can help."

Eren took a breath, looked at me, then shut his mouth. I waited for him to say something still, anything, but he didn't, and after a long moment more there was a soft beep indicating that Hanji had stopped the recording.

"Well... That'll work. I'm not going to edit it though, so you'll have to just deal with the whole world knowing our little Levi, famously cold, accepts hugs and cuddles from some kid he picked up off the ground." The brunette paused, snickering as she glanced at Eren. "Literally."

"Why the fuck can't you edit it?" It wasn't that I minded people knowing I cared for my chosen mate, but even the uninvited warm feelings that accompanied love for the little shit couldn't change who I was. Showing a bunch of dumbasses how easily I could be coaxed into using Eren as a shield from the world was something I'd rather keep to myself, my pride held too close to me it go so easily.

"Simple- if the video's edited, people might assume that what we cut out were parts where we told Eren what to say, or parts where you hurt him." I stiffened, my gaze growing deadly at the suggestion, and the glasses-clad vampire put her hands up in defense. "Now, now, I'm not saying you would, I'm just saying that there are people out there who might think that."

"Tch. They're all a bunch of clueless fucking animals. Oi, Eren, can you-" I paused, words trapped inside my throat as I turned back to look at Eren for the first time since Hanji had shut off the camera. His eyes were wide, terrified gaze set firmly on a point across the room, and the subtle shaking of his body had the tension from my muscles leaving instantly to be replaced with concern. Damn this kid for making me worry, making me care... 

"L-Levi... He's..." He didn't say anything more, but he didn't have to. I had turned my head to follow his gaze, to see what the hell could be scaring him like this and to put an end to whatever the fuck it was immediately, but instead I found my own eyes growing with surprise. I should've guessed it, should've realized that this room hadn't been safe since that day Eren had woken me...

There, hidden in the murky shadow cast by one of my bookshelves, was the figure of a vampire who just stood there and watched us, the figure identical to that from that moment weeks ago.


	45. Chapter 45

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren's deviation from average vampires is revisited, but this time in a much different manner. Levi tries desperately to protect the love of his life, and the character death warning HAS NOT BEEN ADDED. Hush. It'll be okay.

Levi's POV

There was a moment of tense silence as time seemed to come to a halt, the frozen feeling seeping into my mind and holding it in place so it couldn't race with the meanings and possibilities of what had just happened. We had been doing perfectly, we were happy, Eren was okay... 

And then all at once the current situation caught up to me, snapping me into action and forcing me to surge forward towards the shadow across the room. Like hell I was just going to warp Eren away this time, like fucking hell I was going to put him through that shit again. It didn't even surprise me that my first thought was his happiness, was his health and safety and his mental stability and not my own, none of it surprised me anymore. It was vastly more important to eliminate the threat and keep from warping Eren, so much more important to do that than to keep myself safe, kingdom to rule be damned. 

It was only after I had reached out towards the threat, eyes narrowed and fangs barred as I snarled at him, did I realize I was unarmed, and only after he had warped to stand behind me did I realize he wasn't. The glint of silver flashed once, twice, and I warped behind him to avoid the stinging blade. There were many ways to kill without a weapon, many ways to win, even against one of my own like this. We may be near invincible, but....

No one could survive without a head.

I could tell instinctively where he would strike next, centuries upon centuries built up and putting experience and training and skill behind me to support me and guide my hand as it reached forward to just barely miss his neck, the tip of my finger feeling the cold of his skin before he was gone, and once more without having to think I was using the weight of my swing to pull myself around and raising my arms just in time to knock back his knife. He showed no emotion, no anger nor pride nor fear, and it was then that I realized I couldn't smell him. There was no blood coursing through his veins, no life in his body... This man was truly dead.

The thought had caught me for the briefest of moments, but it was enough. The harsh burning cut through me and stuck directly at my mind, and I let out an outraged cry as I warped back a foot, hissing as the pain of my wound only amplified after temporarily removing myself from space. It may have only been a scratch, my reflexes too quick to be that caught off guard, but still the beading blood on my forearm hurt like hell and showed no intentions of letting up despite the resistance to silver I had built up over so much time I had been forced to be exposed to small bits of it. How could it hurt this much, so fucking much-

And then we were moving again, spinning and warping and darting forwards and back in an odd dance across the room, no time to stop and rest and think about what was happening and only time to do... 

I warped up, above his head to spin downwards, twisting my body to avoid the blade that had found me before my fangs could find him, and though I managed to twist his arm backwards before his other arm came out from my blind spot to knock me back and down, the damage hadn't been much. Already I could hear the joins snapping back into place, the rate of healing of any vampire too fast for a mere twist to do any damage. I knew it hadn't been enough before I had even hit the ground, my eyes locking with the dead ones of my opponent as his arm healed and he watched me fall from his blow. 

I wouldn't give this bastard the satisfaction of seeing me hit the ground, not even close, and I found myself behind him once more. The breath was knocked out of me the moment after I had warped, unable to stop myself from falling and only wishing to not encourage the dead man I was fighting, and it took a moment before I was able to roll back and over to bring myself back to my feet, knees bent and weight centered as I got ready to defend myself from the blow I suspected to come.

And yet... There was no blow. No dead vampire, no shadow man to fight at all. There was only a scream, cut off as if the terror had become too much or the voice had gone too high even for someone with a bat's hearing. I had spun around instantly, throwing myself towards the scream, before I, too, froze and went silent. The dead vampire was still here, still fighting- he had simply grown tired of fighting fair.

"Let him go." The words were almost animalistic, my mind clouded with fear for my mate and hate and violence and the desire to kill, a desire I thought I had long rid myself of. Yet once more, in the most unexpected and almost sad of ways, Eren was drawing out all my forgotten hopes and feelings.

He stood in front of our attacker, eyes wide and hands clenched and entire body shaking from the pain and fear as his skin was seared away by the blade held at his throat. I had kept him sheltered, refusing to let him near danger when his life was already so painful, and yet once more I had failed, and once more I could see the fear of death in his eyes. It was always worse the first time, that first time you touched silver and felt its burning pain, felt it almost melt away your skin and, if it got deep enough, bone. His cry of surprise had been cut short because it was too painful to scream, to painful to talk at all, probably, given the way his mouth opened and closed helplessly and tears began selling up in the corners of his eyes. Perhaps, if I hadn't been quite so protective, I could've prepared him, and he wouldn't be hurting so much right now.

"Let him go!" I could barely believe the voice was my own, strangled and desperate and almost a stranger even though the words were identical to those I had just forced out a moment ago. It hurt to see Eren hurting, hurt to know he was in pain...

Hurt to know it was my fault.

The days and weeks and months Eren had been with me were lived in a blur, a constant haze of war and death and the tentative happiness he was able to give me. When I was with Eren I felt at peace with the world, as if no one could touch us, but I knew that wasn't the case. Eren knew it, too, and there was a growing worry in the back of my mind that he had known it all along, that he hadn't been happy at all here, part of this world, with me by his side to always bring him more fear to stow away for if he ever ran out of what nightmares were made of. It must have always been so hard for him...

"Let him-" My voice cracked, my anger now only a memory from when I had first turned to find Eren in the clutches of my opponent, my mind almost drowning in the look of pure terror etched into my chosen mate's face.

It was an odd and out of place thought right then, but for a moment I wondered if we were just mates now, plain and simple, no choosing about it. Or, if there was, it wasn't necessary to mention because the choosing had become mutual.

"You're easier to break than I assumed..." The voice, raspy and light and reminiscent of cobwebs, seemed to seep from the shadows of the vampire's cloak, the hood pulled up though it did little to cover his face and the unimpressed expression he maintained. It infuriated me to know I hadn't even been able to that, to force him to move enough that his hood fell from his head as we fought, but there was nothing I could now but stand with my muscles tense and lips pulled back in a snarl. Even with the offensive expression, though, I knew it was obvious how scared I was.

"Shut the fuck up!" My words were still a cry of outrage and despair, and beneath their literal meaning was the plea once more to let Eren go. 

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Your Majesty..." The title was laced with mock respect, making it oh so painfully obvious how little he cared for me. "I'm under strict orders not to leave until you understand why we're taking your toy from you. We do, after all, always wish to play fair." 

"Bullshit! He's not a goddamn toy, and there's no way in hell I'm letting you take him from me!" I froze up and unconsciously withdrew a step when the attacking vampire narrowed his eyes and dug his knife slightly deeper into Eren's already searing skin, coaxing a cry of excruciating pain from his throat before he once more fell silent. I had just hurt him again, right then it was me, my fault he was hurt...

"Careful, Your Majesty, or I'll end up taking a life I don't intend to. We do not wish for war, nor do we need any death where it is unnecessary. We have always been better at living without killing than you have been, always." I bit back a response snapping out the simple fact that it wasn't as if we had enjoyed the killing, not wishing to watch the brunet in his hold have to suffer through any more pain. "We are pure in all ways, so much more pure than you or the humans, and it is simply time we show the world that. And even you, Your Majesty, will bow your head when you realize that. We are Nex, though the name is only a bind which keeps us strong rather than a label."

Even in the tense moment I almost had to bite back a dry laugh at his words, at his claim that their name did nothing to label them even when that was what a name was. Death, too, once the word was translated from Old Latin, it had even more of an effect than the cloaked vampire had claimed. It was a bind, yes, it was a label, yes, but also... It was a threat. A threat to any that disturbed, a threat to people who wished to interfere. 

"Do not look so scornful, Oh King Levi the Great... After all, who do you think dug that tunnel you seem to have taken such a liking to?" I blinked, his words not quite registering, and then-

I was stumbling backwards as if I had been struck, my eyes wide and shock momentarily flitting around my fear and anger. He couldn't mean that, they couldn't be responsible for my escape from reality, couldn't have created something so beautiful, I couldn't believe it. The tunnel that shone as if the stars lived there, the tunnel that saved me from depression and simply giving up, the tunnel I could only associate beauty with. The scene before me was not beautiful, was anything but, and I felt bile rise in my throat at the thought that I had given Eren gems that had come from that tunnel. If it was true what he said, if those precious stones were really only made possible to give because of him... I had given him a gift covered with blood and violence and hate. 

That thought seemed to cripple me more than the simple realization of my safe place being taken away from me did, the thought that I never seemed to get it right. There was always something that I fucked up, always something that I had missed, always something that needed to be fixed. Even just now, when I hadn't known to feed from Eren's blood to stave off a second heat, even then I had messed up. Why did he keep letting me do this to him, fuck, why did I keep doing this to him...

"You look surprised. Surely Your Majesty didn't believe that that tunnel came from nowhere? And after all our generosity, letting you spend so much time loitering in our halls and stealing our gems, you look so disgusted..." I curled my lip, ready to say something in my defense, anything, but nothing came to mind, and the shadowy figure before me tilted his head up and made a short sound of approval at my silence. "Well, at least you've learned not to speak when you aren't meant to."

I grit my teeth at his words, infinitely displeased with the feeling of being looked down upon, but I didn't dare speak up. I could still see the the boiling pain of skin and flesh being practically melted away where the blade dug into his neck, could still see the pain and sorrow and fear on the taller boy's face, and could still think clearly enough to understand that speaking up against our captor would prove to be fatal for him. I needed to do this without words, without speaking up, without moving from my spot to attack. Think, damn it, think....

Hanji. How had I forgotten? She was right there, by the tripod she had had set up-

By the tripod she had set up, held captive by yet another shadowy figure with a silver knife, though I could see more frustration in her eyes than the fear in Eren's gaze. She would be of no help to me now, no way out of this- I was the only one unrestrained, yet with Eren's life dangling in front of me I knew that in some ways my binds were stronger than anyone else's. This Nex, this group that had been watching from the shadows during my battle with Tueur and our rebellion against Humanity's Council, they had been smart. They had sat out the bloodshed and the trickery and had simply waited for the opportune moment to strike, the moment we let down our guard though we knew we shouldn't have.

It made me wonder just how involved Nex had been, perhaps from the very beginning. Unwanted and unbidden, memories crashed into my mind one after another, though there was one single memory that stood far out from the others: Eren captured and bitten, though Tueur's leader seemed taken aback to learn that Eren had already turned, his comment about how he hadn't expected me to turn Eren so soon. It hadn't been them all along, hadn't been Tueur at all...

"You... It was you! You bit him!" A look of satisfaction crossed the other vampire's face at my words, raw with fury and pain, but he remained silent. "Damn it! It's your fault, it's all your god damned fault..." My anger was fading fast, being replaced almost instantly with regret. If I had known there was another group, if I had prepared, I could've saved Eren. I could have saved him from turning and losing his sanity, from having to take part in the battle with Tueur, from at one point losing his leg temporarily in a panic attack in which he accidentally warped himself.

A panic attack in which his goal had been to get away from me.

The guilt was unbearable, was too much, and I couldn't support it all much longer. I knew I couldn't, but there was no way to rid myself of it, and I knew it. Fuck, this was all my fault, all my fault...

"Oh, Your Majesty, your devastation is insulting. He was bitten by us, yes, but that was a blessing! We are pure, so much more pure than you, and to be bitten by us means so much for him. His healing rate will be twice that of yours once it had properly developed, and his strength will overcome any other turned by common blood. He was turned by someone so pure, with so many generations of pure vampiric blood they were more dead than I am, and he had to be if we wanted to take him later. Even this is a stretch, taking someone alive who was once a human, but we will simply have to feed him more than usual. The value of the Vampire King's mate, after all, is quite high..." He looked so smug, so knowing of my inability to do anything, and yet...

There was a thought, there in the back of my mind, an idea.

Before fighting back against Tueur had become the main objective, there were small memories that seemed almost out of place in all the other horror stories from the last few months. Going to a greasy fast food place so he could get something to eat, letting him cover me in thick amounts of sunscreen and usher me outside, seeing my first sunrise. 

The colors then had been so beautiful, all pinks and purples and flaming oranges, the clouds looking almost as if someone had raised a lighter to their white cotton and let them burn. And the sun... It wasn't beautiful, no, not even close. It hurt, burning me and peeling back my skin, and its blinding rays weren't much to look at. Yet... It had been my first time, the first time I had ever gotten a glimpse of the human world, of Eren's world, and the thought made my heart squeeze happily. There had been happy memories, memories before my royal duties had taken over.

The idea grew bigger, stronger, and began pushing its way towards the front of my mind.

"Our purity gives us the right to rule, yet your uncle was filthy, so filthy, and pushed us back into the mountains that divide you and humanity. You were right to kill him, wrong to take his place. It should've been us, it should have been us that were stronger and faster and smarter, yet it was you instead." His tone was growing harsher, his body growing tenser, and despite telling myself I wasn't a religious man I found myself sending a prayer to every god I had heard of that in his fury he wouldn't hurt Eren any more than he already had. "But now, now! We have ransom! That day in the park your urgency betrayed you, and we knew then that the great Vampire King Levi Ackerman had finally grown soft. All we had to do was take your mate and give you a few days, and you'll hand over the crown without a fight. You're weak, so weak..."

And I was. I was weak, hopelessly so, but the idea was was too strong, now, and I felt my eyes hardening. I would do this, for Eren, anything and everything for him, and we could go back to watching sunrises and sleeping in our own room without the fear we'd be attacked. It was drastic, yes, but thinking back... Perhaps it was something I should've done a long time ago.

I believed I was special, though, and I refused to for a long time. Much longer than I should've, but every time the idea came up I dismissed it, telling myself I was strong and special and that I would be betraying the race that in reality I had no real responsibility to care for. They were a part of who I was, sure, but thinking back... We were never there for each other, were we? We kicked our children out onto the streets, we chose mates and used them only for reproduction before sending them back... We were not a pretty species, not with all the blood staining our hands, and it was time I recognized that.

It was time to give up.

"You're right. I'm weak. Fuck you. However... If you want the crown, find another way. Eren is worthless to you." The skeptical look on the other's face told me what I needed to know, that he hadn't seen this coming, he wouldn't expect me to give up everything I had fought so hard to keep just to keep Eren. This would work, it had to... "I resign. I am no longer the Vampire King, and Eren is no longer in any position of value. We were never married, so the throne does not pass on to him. The new Vampire King is the commander of our troops. Speak to him, to Erwin Smith, if you want to fuck with the royal family. I'm done."

For a moment, the words rang through the air with a sense of finality, with the hope that they'd work. No one had ever resigned from this position before, but there was no law saying I couldn't...

And then the cloaked vampire narrowed his eyes, and I knew I had made a mistake. Yes, I had taken away the worth Eren had held, but once more, I had been weak. I had been stupid and reckless, and I had just made him worthless to him, had just taken away any reason for them to keep him alive.

"Wrong choice." The words were sharp, stinging and burning like the silver I could almost feel at my own neck, but there was no knife there. There was only the stinging pain of my throat closing up, only the widening of my eyes, only the pain of my scream. There was only Eren, trying desperately to tell me something through his eyes that I was too far gone to understand, and only the glinting blade, finally cutting deep into the flesh it dug into and slicing his neck. I couldn't tear my eyes away from that blade, couldn't bear to look up and lock eyes with him, though I knew the second the moment was over that I would regret that decision for the rest of my life. 

It had been my last chance to see the light that had always been there in his eyes, that had always been there no matter what kind of hell I put him through, and I realized too late that I had given in too early. He didn't hate me for putting him through this shit, he didn't regret anything that had happened, and he didn't mind being the mate of the Vampire King. If I had found a way, any way to look up then... 

The question as to what I would have found there would haunt me for life, and I knew it, but I had an idea. Perhaps it was selfish, perhaps it was only what I had wanted to see and what I had wanted to believe, but... I believe I would've seen a return of the love I had felt for Eren for a long, long time now, and I would've seen forgiveness.

I began to cry.


	46. Chapter 46

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roles are reversed, Eren wakes up, and hope for a happy ending begins to disappear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for violence and character death 0-0

Levi's POV

 

I couldn't remember the last time I had finally let my emotional dam break, let my vision blur and my face grow wet as my throat became too tight to breath properly. It had been so long since I had cried like this, had let others see me cry like this, and I would realize later that I hadn't even noticed the tears spilling over to run down my face until an anguished cry had ripped from my throat as I lunged forward towards the source of my misery. The bastard didn't even flinch, didn't even meet my gaze as he warped a foot to the left, dodging my wild attack with ease and not bothering to release Eren from his hold.

Eren...

I couldn't bear to look at him, and yet at the same time it was all I wanted right then. To look at him, to take what would probably be my last chance to memorize his features. Yet I was scared, so fucking scared of what I'd find besides the soft brown mop of hair and the familiar shape of his face, scared of the way his eyes wouldn't appear to hold the light of all the stars in the sky had they been trapped in the ocean. I hadn't been able to bring myself to look at him when the blade at his throat moved to end his life, hadn't yet seen the damage it had done, and I was scared of seeing that, too. I could smell the copper of his blood, the scent that had once been so comforting tormenting me, taunting me as I did everything to avoid looking at him now.

The feral sound I made as moved once more to kill my opponent was frighteningly close to animalistic, to a sound made by someone who had lost their mind, but I wasn't surprised. Hadn't I myself lost my own mind, just now, with the realization my pieced together family had been torn apart for good? 

Somehow I moved without hesitation, without being too blinded by my tears, and almost as if nothing had happened we resumed the lethal dance we had been performing together before this seemingly dead vampire took Eren as a hostage. It was obvious something had happened, though, because my movements were automatic as my mind was elsewhere, stuck on the way this asshole was using Eren as a shield. So many times I had come a split second away from finally getting a good shot at my opponent, prepared to tear out his throat or rip out his heart if it came down to it, and so many times I found myself warping away at the last second to avoid damaging Eren, despite logic telling me that nothing I did to him now would matter. 

Even now, even after his breathing had ceased and his blood was staining the floor and I couldn't hear his heartbeat, even now I couldn't bear to hurt him.

"This is it?" The words were drawled out, lazy and bored and not the voice of someone who was fighting, and somehow the way his voice held no hint of the carnal rage I felt nor the ragged way my breath was coming out only managed to feed the fire burning in my core. "Somehow I had expected the famous Vampire King to hold himself together at least a bit better... We've done your mate a huge favor, after all."

"Bullshit!" The words were barely words, their volume and tone and the thundering rage that pushed them forward making them barely recognizable, but the message was clear. How dare he claim Eren was in a better place now, away from me, how dare he imply he was better off free from me, I did everything to make him happy...

I swept my leg out, a desperate move that would work only on a human, and the apparently dead vampire warped behind me as he raised his blade, the tip of it nicking the back of my neck and leaving a burning feeling behind before I had warped to his side as I leapt forward to try and grab for his head. My fingers grasped at nothing, another stinging cut appearing on my wrist and then on my cheek, the realization that the man was taunting me clear in my mind and doing little to calm my frantic movements.

"It had to happen sooner or later, Your Majesty, you couldn't just let such a wonderful bite go to waste... We sent him someone so purely dead, so much more pure and righteous than you, you couldn't just let that go to waste..." The burning of the silver blade was too much, it shouldn't sting so much, hadn't I built up such a resistance to this metal that it should only be a dull throb? 

"Don't give me that shit! You're just another goddamn monster!" I lunged forward again, warping away and letting out a frustrated cry as I had to jerk back my hand before I ended up marring Eren's still beautiful skin, changing course to come at a downwards angle from above, spinning midair to reach out an arm towards the blade already extended to impale me as I came down as my opponent let out a low chuckle. It was only silver, it shouldn't hurt this much, I could easily grab the blade and turn its point away from me...

"You're a fool, Your Majesty."

The burn of the blade lodged in my chest seemed to be that of the Sun itself, melting away whatever sanity I had left as I let out a soundless scream and pitched forward, only managing to plunge the silver deeper into my chest until I felt it tear through the muscle and skin on my back to meet with the cool bedroom air once more. He had warped forward a few inches just before my hand made contact with his weapon, had known what I was trying to do, and he was right. I had been a fool, and this was the cost.

I could feel my breathing growing shallow, my vision blurry at the edges and the pain too much to allow me to focus on any one thing. My legs shook too much to support me, warm splatters of blood hitting the floor with a sickening sound just before my knees met the floor as well, my weight too much too soon and the condescending expression on my attacker's face doing nothing to relieve the pressure. I had failed.

"You are no true vampire, Levi Ackerman. You never were. None of your supposed sacred race was ever worth anything, with your desperate need to feed and your inability to stop your heart. You may come close to being dead, but you are not, and no similarity with the dormant sleep of a true vampire will blur the lines between life and death enough for you step over onto our side." He shoved his arm out and down, a helpless cry of pain ripped from my throat as he shoved his blade deeper still into me, and I was in too much pain to care about the whimper that escaped my lips as he twisted the blade inside me. "You are an in-between, a species without a place, a creature that can't decide whether to live or die and is too afraid to take a step onto either side of the universe and so instead remains in limbo, never bothering to even attempt to find your place in the world."

He sneered, the emotion being perhaps the most expressive one he had displayed as of yet, and I flinched.

"You, Your Majesty, are worthless." 

Those words tore through me more harshly even than the sun lodged in my chest, the blade that was draining what little life I had left away, and with them the last of whatever flame I had left flickering inside me finally died. I was worthless, wasn't I? I wasn't able to save Eren, wasn't even able to save myself, and there was a tug in the back of my mind that whispered the hopeless words condemning Hanji to death by my hand as well. If I couldn't even avenge my mate, how did I expect to save her? 

And the truth, as terrifying as it was, was that I hadn't. I hadn't planned on saving her, I hadn't even thought of her in my desperate attempt to destroy this dead vampire that stood above me, because I had been blinded and in love and in pain and I hadn't paused to think of the people I would be leaving behind if I threw my life away like I had. Even if Hanji somehow managed to free herself, I knew that a part of her would've still died. I had only ever seen her depressed once, had only ever seen her without words once, and it had been scarring. She was the person we all counted on to lighten the mood, to provide comedic relief even when it wasn't appropriate, to fill the silences and provide the answers I didn't have. 

Erwin was the same way, I supposed, though I hadn't ever seen him hit rock bottom before. Somehow he still managed to stand up straight, to keep his eyes set forward with determination, to always have a way out as our best strategist. Before Eren, they had been the only two people alive I could trust with my life, and here I had abandoned them both without a thought as to how it had affected them.

My tears, almost forgotten about, fell just a bit quicker, just a bit fatter and more sorrowful.

This despicable man who stood still holding onto the blade lodged in my chest, it would be he who took the throne, and Hanji would lose her life so as to ensure no one knew I had given up my throne to Erwin just before my death. The blond would be left alone, his shoulders weighed down with the responsibility of trying to save both the kingdom that should be his and Humanity from these dead vampires even though it was never his responsibility in the first place. 

Mikasa and Armin and whoever the fuck else on that side of the mountains, all of them that knew Eren and his infectious smile and his rambling words and his way of making anyone laugh, all of them would at least have each other, yet here I was leaving the only people I had left behind. I was a fool, I was worthless, I was...

I could feel myself rekindling the flame that had been extinguished just moments before I had fallen, just moments before all these thoughts had raced through my mind as time seemed to come to a halt. I couldn't leave everyone like this, not this helpless, not without trying. I was Levi Ackerman, the seemingly invincible Vampire King, and I had met my match. 

And he was going down with me.

It was painful, so fucking painful to force my legs to push my body up, to force myself to stand as my entire body shook with the force of it all and the pain that still burned and melted and thank fucking god I could survive at least a while before I needed breath, because I was almost sure my lungs had been torn. My killer was watching me, not doing anything, simply watching, and I could see the silent laughter in his eyes and I knew he didn't believe I could do anything to him. In almost a final taunt he dropped Eren, let him fall to the ground as a dead weight and a sickening thud, and I almost resigned myself to joining him just to be close when my death came. 

I couldn't though, and I knew it, so instead my eyes narrowed and I let out a growl with whatever breath I had left in me as I shot my hand forward. There was a resonating crack as his neck snapped, his head bent at such an unnatural angle that there was no question as to his fate. A look of disbelief was plastered across his face, glossy eyes wide with the realization that I was Vampire King for a reason, that I still had enough fight in me to take his life. I stood like that for what seemed like an eternity, though I knew it was only a few seconds, and I hesitated on the brink of finally falling backwards and letting the endless sleep I knew was coming stiffen my limbs and still my muscles. 

It almost seemed as if I were okay, the pain and burn so much by now that I supposed the nerve endings around the blade in my chest had been seared off as the pain faded away slightly. I didn't mind so much when I stumbled backwards, my hand releasing its grip where it had been holding as I broke my opponents neck to end the fight and my body starting to fall off the sword stuck in me. I didn't mind at all, really, not when the ground was my destination and I knew I would be closer to Eren there. He was so close, so near me...

My arm was already stretching in his direction before my head met the ground, my expression desperate and my mouth opening with the hope I knew was in vain to let his name grace my lips one last time. No sound came out, no breath left in me to make a single noise even as I locked eyes with dead Caribbean orbs, and instead I finally understood why it was said that your entire life flashed before your eyes when you died. In his eyes were the stars, the so-called beauty of the night, the grace he described that morning we had watched the sunrise and he had comforted me afterwards when I was unable to finish watching it and he had realized how much that had affected me. He was right, the night was beautiful, the night was so breathtakingly stunning, and all he had to do was to stand under the stars to prove it.

Somewhere in those eyes was the boy I had locked eyes with months ago, at a shitty year ceremony where I hadn't had much hope of finding someone to be my mate and had ended up literally picking up a mess of a boy off the ground to do just that. There was the boy that had rallied and truly begun the rebellion, the boy that had passed out from anemia because he had refused to feed, the boy that had awoken later and had looked so heartbreakingly resigned to being a vampire. There was the boy who chittered and flew and seemed as if a child when I taught him how to shift into a bat, the boy who seemed to forget we were in such a serious situation, the boy who had looked so shocked and lost when we had first shoved the idea of a child at him.

There was the boy that somehow always ended up in my lap, the boy whose smile was worth the world, the boy who was the first to see the secret of the tunnel I thought was mine and really never was.

And then there was a sharp pain that shocked my body as my head finally hit the ground, unsoftened stone that collided with my skull and created a solid sound when I reached it, and I blinked once, slowly, and began to let go of whatever I had left to cling on to. I made mental apologies to those I knew I would be leaving behind but had been too selfish and blinded to think of before it was too late, and silently promised Eren I'd see him again soon. I could still be with him, even now...

Loud cracks and pops, one after another, ripped through the air and forced me to strain to see what was happening above me. There wasn't anything to see, not at first, and I felt a burst of frustration at having my departure delayed before there was suddenly a face looking above mine, a smug and bored and certainly-not-dead face, and I was all of a sudden very much not ready to go just yet. How the hell was he alive, he could be after that, it would've killed even me...

"You're not much of a listener, Your Majesty. I thought it was stressed already that I was dead? That it was you who could be killed, you who straddled the border before life and death, you who failed to be a true vampire because you couldn't even give up breath and blood?" He crouched down, not at my side, but Eren's, and as my eyes grew wide with horror I felt a grim sense of hope begin to flood my senses. He was dead, he was still here though, still moving and thinking and not acting dead, and it was one of his kind that had given their vampiric genetic material to my mate, to Eren, to the beautiful boy I thought was dead...

Eren blinked, slowly, and if I could've cried at that point I would've. I couldn't anymore, though, too close to being gone, and instead I watched in excruciating pain as Eren's eyes begin to look less dead, as they flickered with recognition and the horror, and as they grew wide with pain once more as the blade I had fallen off of was shoved mercilessly through his side, pinning him to where he was.

"You're lucky, Your Majesty... You get to see him as a true vampire before you leave us. Say goodbye, little boy- your keeper doesn't have the energy to say it himself." I opened my mouth, trying desperately to get a message to the brunet, anything, I love you, but I could do nothing but hopelessly mouth the words. I wasn't sure if he could read the message, if he could finally hear the words I had promised to keep from him until he was ready, but it was enough to pretend that he did.

It hurt to see him in so much pain, emotional and mental and so much physical pain, and it seemed as if his voice was slowly coming back to him as he began to make muted whines and murmurs of indistinguishable words as my vision started to fade once more. I couldn't keep my eyes open, no matter how much I wanted to, and I think somehow Eren knew it. I could see the strain it took for him to not glance down to where I had been stabbed, could see the pain on his face when he caught my eyes flicker towards his still torn apart throat, yet we could do nothing, nothing save for stare at each other in silence and wait.

Absently, I found myself feeling as if I had had yet more of my mate taken away from me-first his warmth, his comforting and addicting heat, and now I didn't even have the rhythmic pumping of his heart or the constant reminder of his presence through his breath...

"I am slightly disappointed we had to awaken little Eren here by marring his body, as we would've preferred to keep him in top condition, but you must understand that we had no other choice. You refused to cooperate, and look where that got you- dying, and we're still getting your little boy toy. Though, before you leave, I may as well set your mind at ease: we'll take good care of him, rest assured." I could imagine the smile that meant nothing of what he promised, I could see it without looking, and I could smell the decay in his breath as he leaned close and my eyes finally became too heavy to keep open and Eren faded from view.

"Goodnight, Your Majesty..."


	47. Chapter 47

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren fights back, and people's worth's are measured by how dead they are. Eren says the L word.

Eren's POV

 

There was a silence that hung over us, one that wasn't really there at all and only having presence because our minds had shut down, had refused to process the sound of blood dripping down to pool on the floor and the quiet chuckling of the man above me. The world had shrunk to include only Levi and myself, both of us dead though I continued to play the part of living. My body felt light without the blood I had lost, not needed anymore, but even if I had still been able to feel the beating of my heart and the heaving breaths I had been taking before I blacked out, even if I had still had a pulse I knew the second Levi's eyes glossed over and his mouth slacked that I would've been dead anyway. 

I knew without having to ask how it had happened, how he had gotten such an ugly wound, how he had ended up on the ground by my side. I knew he had been taking on the role of a vengeful spirit, always one to shoulder the responsibilities of the world even if he knew deep down he couldn't do a thing about it. And now he was gone, one mistake too many, one risk the last he'd take, one last time he tried to get me to understand the feelings he held for me and had promised to hold for me until I could return them.

I had read the words on his lips just before I had processed what was happening, the silent confession he had mouthed at me just as I was coming to. The pain that encompassed me and the confusion I felt at the odd feeling of not needing to breathe had been too much, too much when the image of Levi so mortally wounded was added to the sensory overload, and I had been unable to respond. I hadn't even been able smile, to nod, to do anything to acknowledge his words, and now... Now he had died without ever knowing if I loved him, too.

Died.

He had, though, he had died and was now dead and would stay dead. He was gone, forever to stay just out of my reach because now I was dead too- dead in a way I knew instinctively I couldn't escape. My first thought when I had awoken was that perhaps I was alive still, that I had somehow made it through, but it hadn't taken long for me to realize the truth. All it had taken was the odd way I wasn't hyperventilating anymore to make me realize that I wasn't breathing at all, and then... Well, then it had been instinctual. I had made the necessary connections, had seen past the pain and only heard the silence once occupied by the pounding of my heart and the heaving of my breath, and then I had all but given up. 

There was no way to be more dead than this, no way to join Levi where he was now unless I destroyed my body beyond recognition. I wanted to cry at the thought, at the realization that I wasn't against it and that my biggest concern was how much it would hurt. I wanted to cry, wanted to release the broken sob caught in my throat at the frustration of not loving life like I used to, but I had run out of tears to shed. I wasn't even sure if this could count as hating life, my fury and terror and resignation all directed at the way I was now, which wasn't life, not even close. 

Even so... It didn't really matter what label was stuck on what I was. Alive, dead, neither or both or something in between- I didn't want it. If I was stuck here to be used as a pawn of fate once more, if I was stuck here where Levi wasn't, I hated it. I hated it with every fiber of my being, with enough force to finally rip an anguished cry from my throat, and I reached blindly in the direction of the Vampire King's corpse.

I hurt too much to be able to shape the pained sounds I was making into words, too overcome with the burning still at my throat and the fire in my abdomen where Levi's killer had pinned me to the ground where I lay with his blade, so even now, he wouldn't know. Whether his spirit lay watch over me for a moment longer or not, whether my time had been extended once more or not, he would never know. Wasn't that what I was best at, anyway? Putting off the important things, pushing Levi away, getting him hurt? This was nothing new, none of it was new, only the heavy feeling of knowing that this had been my last chance. 

I had ruined it with my weakness, dead and still too afraid of pain and suffering to do more than cry and scream and wait to be saved. My thoughts tangled and spun and only added fuel to the fire, the words I knew I had to say not coming, the words I so desperately needed to say not even appearing together in a coherent sentence. I thought perhaps, perhaps if I could still say it now, if I could respond, if I could pretend Levi's spirit was still here and waiting, perhaps I could live with myself. Instead my self loathing only increased, my guilt becoming too much to bear as I ran out of air to yell and scream and I resigned myself to the silence.

Levi would never know if I had ever returned his feelings, would never know if I had loved him, too, and I was crippled with guilt at the thought.

"Are you done crying, now, boy?" The voice froze me, lighting a fire inside me though I still inwardly drowned in the tears I was unable to shed, and I forced myself to inhale though the feeling was unnatural and pained. Without air I couldn't speak, couldn't scream, couldn't fight back...

"-onster..." The word was cracked and broken, my fury and pain mixing and causing me to choke over the world. I could feel my throat already beginning to heal itself, yet still speaking and breathing and then somehow trying again seemed to rip my throat apart again. "...m-monster... Monster! You're a-" Again I was left without breath and with only the pain and the anger, and I wished one more desperate time that I could cry then. "Mon-monster..."

"And you think you're any different?" The voice was smooth, tinted with a sick amusement that made me want to retch. For so long I had thought of myself as that, as a monster condemned to live the rest of my life in the dark, but always Levi had been there to push back my fear and hold me close and never once had he admitted to being hurt by the words. "You're the same as me, boy. Pure. More worthy than anyone in this castle you played in for an idiotic amount of time." 

I felt my jaw clench at the words, images of Levi and Hanji and Petra and everyone I had met flashing through my mind as the dead thing above me denounced them all as impure, as lower than the hideous creatures we were now. 

"If anything, you're worse than me- turned, not born. You're impure, only a flimsy mask of death hiding your filthy reality, but those who are the most dead have decided to take you anyway. No one is more pure than them, no one disagrees with them, no one disobeys. So I will take you, boy, despite your impurity."

A feeling a nausea worked its way into the pit of my stomach, and I clamped my eyes and mouth shut as I tried to calm myself down. I couldn't though, not when his words held such malice, not when the inhuman thing that had stolen away Levi's life was standing above me. It was all his fault, his fault, my fault... 

Another wave of nausea passed through me, but this time I snapped my eyes open at the feeling. I knew that feeling, knew the way it signaled my arrival somewhere new, and I let out a broken cry at the sight that greeted me. Lights hung above and around me, pale blue, like tears of the moon, and my heart seemed to swell at the memory of how Levi had looked lit only by the shimmering, almost sad glow cast by the gems he had given me. It was the only thing I could register about the place, the Moon Tears that lit it, the precious stones that still meant so much to me, and... And how Levi was no longer in my sight. He was gone, left behind, and I knew then instinctively that I would never see him again, would never once more see how his lips had twisted into a heartbreaking smile, never once more see the piercing silver eyes that had lost their bite.

He was gone, truly gone, and there was nothing I could do about it. I was hopeless, helpless, not registering the voices that rung through the cavern we were in, not noticing the eyes that were on me, watching me as the wicked creature above me finally withdrew his sword and drew another scream of agony from me in doing so. I didn't stop this time, though, didn't stop screaming, and though I didn't know exactly when I recognized that the sound had faded from pain to anger, and finally, finally, I felt a hot tear run down my cheek, probably the vey last one to ever do so.

"Take me back!" My voice was wrecked, though my throat was mostly healed by now with the insanity fast repair system my body was equipped with now that I had already grown to resent. "Take me back!" I wasn't even sure if the words were distinguishable, torn from my throat and melded into a demand to let me see him again, to let me see Levi again.

"Be quiet, boy." The words were accompanied by a harsh kick to the wound in my abdomen, and I fell silent instantly, the pain becoming too much once more. 

"Quiet. If he is too afraid to speak he will be unable to perform the task we must assign him." It was a new voice this time, that of a woman's, though I didn't bother to look for its source. "Listen here, child. We need you to tell the world what has happened to the fool who was playing king, just a few words. You will do it." There was no question in her voice, only cold authority, yet still beneath all the pain and sorrow and anger I felt no fear.

"Take me back!" The words were received with a heavy sigh, and I became aware of just how childish they thought I was. Incapable, immovable, idiotic. 

"There is nothing to take you back to. Levi Ackerman is dead." I fell silent for a moment, startled by the words now that they were finally said aloud, but the quiet didn't last long. I forced myself to drag myself onto my stomach, barring my teeth through the pain as I used my elbows to push myself up off the ground, just enough to meet the eyes of the obvious leader in the room. I didn't bother to take in the details of her appearance, didn't bother to do anything to damper the anger that set my eyes aflame, and I ground out my last words before I did the one thing I had always told myself I wouldn't do.

"Fuck you."

And then I was gone, my eyes clamped shut and my entire being focusing purely on the room we had come from, forcing myself to believe that Levi's body would still be there, forcing myself to pretend just for the moment that it was him warping me there, that I had nothing to be afraid of, that my face was still buried in the crook of his neck and that he would keep me safe. I still felt sick, dry heaving the instant the scenery had changed, but with the nausea came a certain level of accomplishment, of relief when I was able to confirm that I hadn't left anything behind and I had warped successfully.

And then there was disappointment, then there was anguish, and then there was an empty room with the only lingering hint of Levi's presence being the heavy smell of his blood that was still pooled on the floor where he had taken his last breath. Hanji was gone too, as well as her captor, and I felt a cry of frustration push its way to the tip of my tongue as I gave in to the urge to punch the wall nearest me, a sick satisfaction going through me when I left a dent and a few cracks that was immediately replaced with the guilt of further ruining a place that had once been sanctuary.

I knew at once that I had run out of time to play damsel in distress, that my grace period to simply wait for someone to help had ended, but it still took a long moment before I was able to force my burning muscles to work once more to push me towards the door. I doubted I'd be able to warp myself again, my energy drained and the pain still present though it was only a dull throb now so long as I didn't strain myself, so instead I found myself stumbling down the staircase, face planting when I reached the bottom and only able to continue after I had convinced myself that I would somehow remember where the throne room was. I had to find Erwin, had to find help...

My scream echoed through the dim corridors when I felt a small pair of hands attempt to turn me around to look at their owner, my mind flashing back to the dead vampires I had escaped from and expecting their leader with the frozen voice to be behind me. It seemed that that was all I was using my breath for now, screaming, and I wondered absently if it would have any affect on how my throat was healing. 

"Your Majesty, please-" A hand clamped over my mouth, a different hand from the ones that had turned me around, and I watched mute with wide eyes as the few vampires before me breathed a sigh of relief at the silence before my mouth was uncovered. They looked so familiar, their outfits belonging to the palace guards and the anger in their eyes telling me they already knew what had happened to Levi. "You need immediate medical attention. Please, allow us to take you to one of the nurses in the palace." A pause, then: "His Majesty would never forgive us if we failed to do at least that."

It was then that it hit me where I knew these three from, their faces clicking into place with the memory of bats dropping from the ceiling at my request to see them. These were the guards Levi had posted at my side, still here, still trying to help me...

"Where the fuck have you been? You could have helped us! You could have saved him!" There was a collective flinch at the words, their expressions turning guilty and almost self loathing as they averted their eyes.

"We're so sorry, Your Majesty... We had simply decided not to intrude on you two while you were intimate and had decided to wait outside- we believed His Majesty could protect you himself. By the time we had realized our mistake... He was already gone." I felt my throat close up, miserable though my eyes remained dry, and I beat weakly at the large man's chest in front of me.

"You should've stayed! You could've helped! You... You... Y-you-" my voice trailed off, not picking back up as I didn't bother to breath again, and this time it was my turn to avert my eyes.

Time after time, my mistakes were forgiven. I was the prize, the royalty that wasn't even royalty yet that needed to be kept safe, and all of the times I had cost someone a life or their happiness it was looked over as people averted their eyes. Even now, I blamed what had had happened on the guards before me, and they took the blame though I was more in the wrong than they had been. I should've insisted he take me elsewhere, should've known going back to our room would be a mistake, shouldn't have lingered when we had woken up, should've allowed Levi to warp me when the danger was immediate. 

"Don't..." I sighed, releasing the the last of the breath I had taken and trying again, voice scratchy and rough. "Don't call me that. I'm no royalty." I squeezed my eyes shut, clenching my hands into fists. "We never married. He never even bit me. I'm no royalty, and the throne has been passed on to Erwin." 

There was a beat of silence that coaxed me into opening my eyes once more, and the disbelieving expressions on the guards faces stared straight back at me.

"Whether you were married or not, the throne should've gone to you. Is the Commander aware of this?" I furrowed my brow, confused and more than a little pissed off.

"How the hell would he know? Do you think I managed to talk to him yet? No! And I'm going now, so you can forget your stupid hospital plans." There was another flinch, and this time it was the third guard who spoke up, voice noticeably softer than the other two.

"Please, Your-" He shifted his weight, then tried again. "Sir. You have to understand that we're only following through with what we know His Majesty would've wished for you, you have to know he would've wanted you taken care of..." I clenched my jaw, knowing it was true and hating it, because it was for me he got himself killed, and I knew that if he was given a do-over he'd end up doing the exact same thing over again, giving his life so I had a chance at mine. I swallowed thickly, shutting my eyes and taking another breath, finally starting to become accustomed to the odd way it felt to force air down my throat.

"Fine. But I request that one of you find Erwin and bring him to wherever you take me, okay? Please..." They nodded, straightening and saluting me before one of them was gone, off to find the man that was supposed to be king, and I tensed as the remaining to each grabbed one of my arms, preparing to warp me. At least, that's what I had assumed, yet instead... I let out a surprised yelp as I was hoisted up over one of their shoulders, the man supporting me taking off at a sprint immediately after. Even this, even this seemingly insignificant thing and with the way his shoulder was uncomfortably close to the wound in my abdomen, even this made me want to cry.

Even with Levi dead, I could feel him there, watching, giving his last orders to my guards. Keep him safe, take him to a doctor, don't warp him. Keep him comfortable, don't let him panic. The feeling of his presence being so strong in that moment forced me to relax, to close my eyes and picture him watching and smiling softly at me, and I finally got my chance to open my mouth and respond; I finally got my chance to let him know that yes, I had been ready to hear the words he had mouthed to me before the last of his life had been drained.

"I love you, too..."


	48. Chapter 48

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren remembers the Moon Tears in an unexpected way.

Eren's POV

 

My mind was a blur as I allowed my guards to escort me towards the temporary infirmity still set up in the large entrance hall, nothing quite registering as the guard that was carrying me got me there as quickly as he could and did his best to lay me down on a cot in a way that would leave me comfortable. It was pointless, really, because there was no way to be comfortable when a critical wound is healing and you know you're already dead, but it didn't quite matter, anyway. All that mattered was the impossibility of trying to set aside thoughts of Levi, the way I could so easily imagine him hovering over me instead of the worried nurses that were fretting about how to tend to me. 

He'd be frowning, like he so often was, but the frown wouldn't be from irritation or anger or frustration. He'd be worried, and that emotion would somehow make it through to me, and I'd send him a weak smile because I hated to see him at a loss for what to do. Hanji would be working around him, trying her best to let him stay as close to my side as possible while she tended to my wounds and hooked up an IV and did everything I was sure wasn't even necessary anymore. 

I knew instinctively that I would be fine without help, only needing time to heal wounds that wouldn't make much of a difference in the end, only needing time to heal wounds that had already made all the difference they would ever make. Yet still they would try, still they would rush and fret and pray that I would turn out alright, that my wounds would heal, and still I would let them because it would feel almost comforting to be cared for like that by people I had grown to care for in return.

There was no comfort in the hurried movements of the nurses tending to me, surrounding me, swarming my cot as they tried desperately to keep the Vampire King's mate alive.

If only they knew that I was already dead, if only they knew that he was already dead, if only they knew...

My healing capabilities seemed to have increased with my death, the irony of it turning my lips up into a wry smile as I felt the pain in my abdomen finally fade away, leaving behind a mere dull ache and nurses that seemed at even more of a loss for what to do. It was slowly dawning on them that there was nothing that they could do, and I closed my eyes as they began to still and simply stare down at me. I didn't want to see their faces then, didn't want to see them when I felt a cold hand press two slim fingers into my neck, feeling for a pulse. There was a pause, then-

"...He's..." I swallowed thickly, steeling myself before I opened my eyes to meet the gaze of the nurse who still had two fingers pressed to where she could find no pulse. "This... This isn't possible... Somebody get me the defibrillator! Hook up an extra IV! He needs more blood, he's lost too much to live!" 

And then they were moving again, running and somehow not stumbling as they tried desperately to deny what they all now knew. I simply lay there, waiting for them to calm down, to accept that they couldn't save me, for them to ask where Levi was. I simply lay there, wishing I could panic, too. 

Instead, my head was near empty, curtains of static hiding away the memories from just moments ago and blanketing whatever part of my mind that would have usually thrown me into overdrive by now. It was if all the fight had been drained from me the moment I had whispered those words to the corridor we had come from, ever since I had admitted to my feelings for Levi and wished fervently that somehow he heard my words. Now I was calm, too calm, terrifyingly calm, and despite how much work it had taken to get me to a more stable mindset I found myself wishing for another panic attack. I didn't want to feel so at ease when Levi wasn't here, didn't want to handle the guilt that came with my lack of a reaction. I should be crying right now, sobbing, screaming and hitting and fighting and hurting...

...and yet I could not, so I didn't.

"Your Majesty, please, hang in there, keep your eyes open! You'll make it through!" It took all I had then not to bark out a laugh, harsh and unfeeling and sneering at the title. None of them knew, none of them... I was no royalty, not even the mate of a king anymore. Levi had died as a normal person, as a citizen, and no one knew. No one but Hanji, and at the name yet another wave of guilt washed over me. What was I supposed to tell everyone, what was I supposed to tell Hanji's mate? I knew she had one, Levi had mentioned that she had...

I'd have to tell him, I'd have to tell everyone. I let her die, I let him die, they're gone, they've left... And it's my fault. It was, it was, it was all my fault and the hollow ache that was wrecking my mind was different enough from panic that I knew even that wouldn't send me into tears. I had truly gained control of my emotions, had truly healed and become happy...

What a load of shit. 

'Happy,' as if that was something I could even pretend to be right now, with a broken heart and empty eyes as I waited for the nurses around me to finally give up on me. As if it was something that I could ever pretend to be after this, if there was an after this, if I ever managed to leave this room in one piece. 

I had managed to escape the bastards that had killed Levi, but there was nothing stopping them from showing up again, from killing everyone in the room and more. I was putting everyone at risk here, I was risking their lives, and I knew I would keep doing it. I was despicable, not even bothering to warn those around, not for this or for anything else. Not for the news about who we lost, about the next war to fight, the next war to lose. I didn't say a word, my mind blank and sad and desperate until it became tired enough to pull me under, to silence my mind and still my body, and I let it, welcoming the peace of the darkness.

 

~~~

 

When I awoke next, I was overwhelmed by the feeling of floating. I was floating, drifting on a silken paradise above the hardship I had left behind when I fell into a fitful sleep. There were hushed voices coming from nearby, but I ignored them, refusing to leave my paradise just yet. They had no right to remind me of reality, to remind me of anything besides the feeling of floating and the smell of Levi that was overwhelming me, all around me-

I bolted up from the cot I had been resting on, hard and uncomfortable and not paradise at all, and it took a few panicked moments to register where the scent of the former Vampire King was coming from. I almost threw up at the sight if it, the blanket wrapped firmly around me in way not at all like how Levi would bundle me up, too many emotions rushing through me at once to remain sitting up. I didn't even register laying my head back to rest on the pillow that seemed to have also come from our old room in the turret that had always seemed so safe, so locked away from the dangers of everywhere else.

I wasn't sure I'd ever again be able to call one place 'home,' not without Levi, but I knew with complete certainty that I'd never again be able to call one place 'safe'.

I let out a tired sigh, not exactly pleased with the direction my musings were heading, and pulled the blanket laid on top of me up to my nose. It didn't smell like blood, like death- not even of the intimacy of our last night together, and I realized belatedly that I didn't quite recognize the blanket at all. It was new to me, perhaps having been stored away for future use but never having really been remembered, but where it came from didn't matter to me in that moment. All that mattered was that it smelled just like him, like him and nothing else, nothing else to spoil the warmth that spread through my body and calmed me down enough to try to think past just the cot and the blanket and the hushed voices that had stopped their whispering.

The ceiling... It wasn't a ceiling I recognized. It wasn't as grand as the ceiling I had fallen asleep looking at, wasn't as small as the ceiling in the room Levi shared with me, wasn't as rough as the ceiling of my old room in the apartment Mikasa still lived in. The name of my adopted sister brought a wave of guilt to the forefront of my mind, urging me to call her, to go to her, to hug her and reassure her and remind myself that I wasn't really alone and that I needed to pull my head out from my ass for a moment to see that. Levi wasn't the only person I loved, though perhaps the only one I had felt the emotion towards in a romantic sense, and every moment I pretended that he was truly all I cared about was another moment I lied to myself.

Hadn't it just been a day or two ago that I hadn't been sure if I even loved him? Hadn't it just been a week and a half since I had been scared of him, terrified, furious? And now here I was, claiming that I would never find happiness without Levi to find it with me, without Levi to guide me towards his idea of happiness. It was selfish of me, so selfish to pretend that there weren't people waiting for me to turn to them, waiting for me to go to them because they knew I'd only push them away if they came to me. 

The realization of that, though, the realization that I was being so cruel to those I cared about, it did nothing to stop me from wishing only for another shot at living with Levi, both for the man who had given his life for me and for the life itself. It was still almost painful, dragging breath into my lungs where it wasn't needed, refusing to give up the habits of being alive even after I had crossed to the side of the dead. Yet still I continued, still I breathed and I wished and I pretended and I aimlessly traced my eyes over the a crack on the unfamiliar ceiling...

"Where am I?" My voice was soft, near a whisper with the blanket that rested over my mouth doing nothing to amplify the words, but I knew that whoever was watching me could hear.

"This is..." There was a pause as the speaker, identified almost immediately as Erwin, shifted his weight, and I waited patiently for him to decide whether to tell me or not. He was king, now, so even if I wanted to use what power I may have had as Levi's mate to get him to tell me I couldn't now. "Humanity's Council has been generous enough to let us seek refuge in their meeting room."

I laughed, still quiet and dry and not really amused at all, and once more Erwin and whoever he had been talking to shifted, their shoes scuffing the tile of the floor. Humanity's Council, the people we had been rebelling against, the people who had been the first to take Levi away from me, even if it was only temporary...

"Are we prisoners?" The answer came quicker now, firmer.

"No. We are free." I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath and attempting not to register the faint scent of dust and disuse beneath the comforting smell Levi had left behind. If I tried hard enough, if I pretended that perhaps it had simply been washed after we had had our last night together and that was why it didn't smell like sweat and sex and me, then maybe I could believe that this was the blanket we had shared...

"Have we surrendered, then? Only alive because we gave up all our rights? Given up, abandoned the millions of people that had joined our cause, supported us, put their faith in us?" No one answered, no one moved, and slowly I reopened my eyes and to stare at the ceiling once more. "Are we really giving up the last thing Levi worked so hard for?"

"Eren..." It was a differen voice this time, more feminine, and I shuddered at the sound of it, forcing myself back up into a sitting position to stare at a brown ponytail and glinting glasses.

"You're dead." It wasn't a question, wasn't hesitant, was simply a statement, was simply my way of putting voice to the thoughts that were telling me I was crazy, hallucinating. 

Hallucinating, and not even able see Levi then.

"No, I'm... I'm still alive. They let me go." I shook my head, hands clenched around the blanket that had fallen down into my lap.

"You're not. You're dead, they killed you..." Hanji sighed, reaching up to take off her glasses, wiping at their lenses with her shirt before replacing them and looking at me, seeming to struggle with what to say.

"After they... After they took you and Levi back with them, the one who was holding me let me go. He didn't even give me a second glance. I wasn't worth it." I shook my head again, more frantically this time.

"You know. You know what Levi said, what he did, you know Erwin's King... You were worth it. You're dead. They killed you." Hanji let out a long sigh, reaching up towards her glasses again but stopping herself midway, the hand raised upward slightly curling into a fist as she narrowed her eyes.

"I'm not dead. I'm alive, they didn't think I was worth it..." She furrowed her brow, looking frustrated. "But you're right. I was worth it. Killing Levi wouldn't be worth a single nickel unless he was King, and if word got out that he wasn't... They shouldn't have left me alive." The large room fell silent save for the sound of ragged breathing, and it took me a moment to recognize it as my own. It sounded so unnatural, so forced, so dead-

"Don't talk about Levi as if he was worthless..." They were the first words to come to mind, anything to interrupt the sound of my unnatural breathing, but they were true, and once more there was a heavy pause as neither Hanji nor Erwin seemed willing to speak, and it took me a moment to look past my own selfishness and grief to see that they were mourning, too, and my comment had hurt. They had known Levi for so much longer than I had, had cared for him for so many more centuries than I had even been alive, and once more, I had found myself being cruel to those around me that I cared about and that cared about me. Perhaps I had never been quite as close to Levi's closest friends as I had been with any of my own friends, but they had meant something to Levi, so they somehow began to mean something to me, too. "I... I'm sorry. I know... I'm sorry..."

"Don't apologize, Eren. We get it, perhaps more than you realize." I nodded numbly, and Hanji cleared her throat before continuing. "Levi was... He was important to all of us. But just because he's gone doesn't mean we can just give up on everything we've been working towards, and everything he's worked for- coexistence between the races. Right now, that means setting aside our disagreements with Humanity's Council and facing Nex, or else we really might lose everything."

Her words made their way into my mind and dumped themselves there, a pile of thoughts I didn't want to think and a list of reasons I didn't want to know about why giving up on our revolution was necessary at the moment. I had been told before that Humanity's Council met in a room that no one was able to warp in or out of, as it was lined with a layer of the metal that prevented vampires from doing so, so I could automatically assume that we were here for the protection against Nex, who could show up anywhere else and simply take me back without much of a struggle at all. Still, the thought of surrendering, of giving up...

"I just wish I knew why they didn't kill me... They were smart enough to wait until there was proper turmoil between us and Humanity's Council before taking you and killing Levi, so such a large mistake as this doesn't make sense. The difference in strategy and fighting styles is too great, there's no way the Nex we know would leave someone behind just in a show of power. It doesn't make sense..." There was a beat of silence, and then it was Erwin's turn to straighten as he began to speak.

"It's a basic war tactic. If everyone dies that witnesses a horrific act, no one would know what exactly had happened, and no one knows who to fear. They had obviously been watching us for a long time, and, assuming that Eren wouldn't dare warp, left you behind to be the story teller. You would tell me, who would tell the kingdom, who would tell humanity... And by that time the game of telephone has not only spread the tale of their success and who they were but it's mutilated it, too. Suddenly, Levi wasn't even able to put up a fight, members of Nex can breathe fire, or perhaps they all have four extra arms, each one armed with a silver sword." Erwin paused, turning the gaze that had rested firmly on the floor to consider Hanji. "The information that you told me... No one as smart as them would let all of that spill unless they were ready for their existence to become well-known, which we can assume that they were. That... That is why you are alive: to play storyteller."

His words rung through the cold room with a note of finality to them, spoken as a true commander of an army that had lasted a millennia. Hanji cast her eyes down, seeming to think for a long moment before she raised her head, mouth set in a grin line of determination. 

"Fine. We'll tell stories. We'll tell of how Levi died protecting Eren, of how Nex was cruel and had denounced us all as filth, and we'll tell of how Nex did not kill the Vampire King, and they did not kill his mate. We need to spread the word that you're King-"

"No." Hanji snapped her mouth shut, shocked but quiet for the moment as she quirked an eyebrow at the blond vampire she was facing. I was all but forgotten in the conversation, simply an onlooker for now, but I didn't mind. I had nothing to say, anyway, so what good would it do for them to turn to me for any sort of advice? I'd probably end up killing them all... "No one must know that Levi tried to pass on his power to me. If need be, I'll appoint Eren as Commander before resigning myself, but right now, the world must see Eren as Vampire King."

"But-" I was cut off before I was even able to get past that single word, Erwin turning to lock eyes with me as he continued.

"You have to understand this, Eren. Right now, there are thousands of people out there that will follow you- humans, not just vampires- and they will follow you because you became the figurehead of our struggle back when we were warring with Tueur. You cannot leave behind your responsibilities because you are in grief." I squeezed my eyes shut at his words, as if not being able to see his mouth move would stop what was being said from reaching me, but it did nothing but make me feel weak. 

"I..." What could I say? That I understood? That I would continue to be strong, continue to fight though Levi wasn't here to pull me into his lap and comfort and calm me? I had to, there was nothing else to say, yet still the words were lodged in my throat and refused to free themselves.

I knew it was hypocritical, wondering how these vampires could simply throw away what Levi had worked for and then turning around and refusing to continue his fight, but I was at a loss for how else to act. Hanji had told me that all I needed to do before was reassure everyone that I was alive and well, but I couldn't do that now, and even if I could, it would do nothing against an army that was already dead. There was no way to fight back against those that could kill but could not be killed, and my heart felt heavy at the thought of encouraging armies only to have them slaughtered. 

"What... What could we even do? There's nothing we have to fight back, no way to protect ourselves outside of this room..." I had opened my eyes by now, watching carefully to see what effect my words had. To my surprise I was met with determination, reckless and blind, and for once it was Hanji who stepped forward to propose a plan of action.

"Trap them. Lock them away in the mountains they came from, burn them-"

"Trap them with what?" It almost seemed as if the question was directed to himself, Erwin continuing to answer it almost immediately. "Sheets of this metal? Stop them from warping out and set a fire inside-"

"But the lack of oxygen would cause the fire to die long before their bodies turned to ash-"

"So we trap them in the sun. Same principle as with Tueur, shoot them to keep them from warping and let the burn in the sun-" 

"Again, they would pull the bullets out and warp way before they were fully turned to ash. However, if we were to chain them up with the metal instead of shoot them-"

"No one would allow us to chain them, not even for a moment, but if we trapped them with a net-" This time there was no interruption from Hanji, no continuation of a plan, no further ideas to bat back and forth and criticize. They had run out, but I, for once in my entire useless existence on this side of the mountains, had not.

"The Moon Tears." Their heads snapped up to look a me, my words quiet compared to theirs but still ringing through the marble room. "They look like stars..."

"To trick them that it's night?" I hesitated at the brunette's words, then nodded.

"If you were to lure them into a place that was surrounded by a mesh of this metal that stops you guys from warping, and then placed a dark fabric over it with Moon Tears sewn into it..." I swallowed thickly, only just now getting further than a vague idea of how this could work. "If they were trapped, and you removed the fabric and they were exposed to the sun..."

"They would burn." I nodded, then dropped my gaze to my lap. "It would only work once, and we could never hope to get them all in one shot, but... If we got their leader, their higher ups, and we played it off as a show of power... If we showed we were capable of being in control..."

"Are you suggesting...?" At Hanji's unspoken question we fell silent, and to the surprise of everyone present it was me who spoke up next to answer her.

"Peace between three races, not just two." Erwin nodded, frowning as he continued the line of thought.

"It would be a fragile peace, but if we presented Eren as King, if we had a leader that had been human and vampire and part of the dead, we could at least attempt to promote peace." Hanji opened her mouth, closed it, then tried again.

"A peace after we slaughtered their leaders?" The blond vampire nodded, and I watched as his expression fell stony, fell determined, fell into the place of a leader, of the true king who had refused the title.

"A peace that is no better than the one we were in before this entire mess started."


	49. Chapter 49

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren is given a working heart and finds that its uses are more than originally thought.

Eren's POV

 

It was not uncertain whether I would be participating in the trap or not, whether I'd be left behind or encouraged to help save the kingdom that I suddenly held the ownership to. I was dead, yes, but this entire plan depended on the fact that even the dead would be harmed by sunlight, something we had already tested by throwing back the curtains in a closed off room for just the moment it had taken for me to begin screeching in pain. 

It had burned, scorched my skin and tearing through my muscle to my very core, and suddenly I was overwhelmed with guilt for when I had dragged Levi out to see a sunrise. My wounds had healed quickly enough, burnt and destroyed skin peeling away to reveal pink and healthy flesh within minutes after the curtains had been moved to block the sun's light once more, but the pain had lasted for a good hour after that. Even if it hadn't, even if I could work through the pain, my pleas to join the army would've fallen on dead ears, and I knew it. 

When Levi had been king, he was king because he was strong, because he was the power we all wanted to have on our side, and he fought and was sent off to war just like any other capable vampire loyal to his cause. He went to prove himself, to lead his kingdom, to protect his kingdom, but I... I was not king because I was strong. I was king because people expected me to be, because the true king had refused the honor, and I was not to be sent off to battle. No one would send a figurehead to war, not when there was a possibility they would be killed and become nothing more than a tragic hero, so why would I be any different? No, I was here to pretend that the world could be fixed with pretty words alone, so I would not fight.

I wouldn't help create our false night, either. Humanity's Council would not open up its room to someone with no political power, so the workers ordered to create the night sky would remain shut out. I would not join them, either, because I was fragile and I was important and I could not die, so I could not leave the room Humanity's Council had made warp-proof. I was useless, a lump of flesh that wasn't even living anymore but was somehow expected to do everything when I weren't allowed to do anything. I was told to rest, to eat, to feed, to sleep. I was told to allow Hanji and her mate to operate on me, to replace my useless broken heart with a mechanical one that would pump blood through my body and create a false heartbeat, a coverup to pretend I was still alive, a disguise to fool the soldiers that were killing based off of who remained in the realm of the living.

It didn't matter that I wouldn't be fighting, didn't matter that the men on our side knew what I looked like and who I was and wouldn't kill me just because I didn't have a pulse, because I was the face of the rebellion and now the face of a war and I couldn't die, not by something as stupid as a misunderstanding. No one stopped to question why we were so concerned with others taking my life, not even as they discussed the ways they could pretend I wasn't dead, and I didn't bother to correct them. They believed if I died we would lose the war, so what good would it do to point out that I was already dead? I was moving, I was speaking, I was thinking, but I was dead, my life already stolen by the enemy before we knew they were the enemy.

So I ate, I fed, I rested. I allowed Hanji and Moblit to operate on me and give me a false heart, the machine heavy and unnatural and leaving me with a feeling that was metallic and terrifying. 

Hanji left me to join the group weaving Moon Tears into an almost-black fabric as soon as she believed that I was stable, muttering something about no one understanding that the sky was made of more than one color. Moblit hesitated before following, and I was left alone with nothing but the remains of a sympathetic glance over his shoulder. I was the Vampire King, I was the figurehead, but I was not important enough to require more than just the few guards at the door and the few pretending I didn't know they were there, hanging from the ceiling in a darkened corner and still fulfilling Levi's last orders for them to keep me safe.

They had failed miserably.

I was roused from the state of half-sleep I had let myself fall into by a set of staccato footsteps, echoing through the grandiose room and matching the new beating of my heart almost perfectly. They slowed as they got closer, coming to a stop when I assumed their owner had reached the foot of my cot, but I didn't bother turning my gaze from where it was fixed on the ceiling. I would not be accepting any more food today, no more blood, either, because my body was heavy and stuffed with unnecessary things considering I was dead, so what was the point? This man would have nothing to offer me that I would want, so I simply lay still as I listened to the footsteps pick back up again as he walked away from me, listened as one of the cheap chairs that had been forgotten about when Hanji and Moblit had left me was dragged across the floor to rest by my side and listened as the man who had yet to say a word settled down into the chair and the room fell silent.

"For a king, you have the most atrocious manners." I was wrong; it was no man. "Most would acknowledge a visitor, Your Majesty, or at least make an effort to pretend to be asleep." It was an older woman, going off of her voice, but even at her words I didn't bother to confirm it, still not moving my gaze from were it rested.

"Most kings haven't been killed only to have had a metal heart replace their dead one." My visitor let out a dry laugh, and I found myself fighting a grimace at the sound.

"You're right. And I suppose your manners can be no worse than those of your deceased mate, so I should be grateful you haven't felt the need to be vulgar yet." I let out a shuddering breath at the mention of the previous Vampire King, finally turning my head slowly to meet the calculating grey eyes of the woman siting over me. "Ah, so you do posses the ability to turn your head. I'm glad I won't be forced to stare at the side of your face through the entire conversation."

"It's easier to spot a lie if I can see who I'm talking to." The words were dry, unamused, but I wasn't actually looking at the human who had decided to pay me a visit anymore, not really. My focus was instead on the uniform she wore, the badge that was pinned over her heart, alive and beating and warm. "Are you their leader?"

"There is no one leader in Humanity's Council." I snorted, tearing my gaze away from what she wore and once more meeting her eyes. 

"Yet you show up alone, giving yourself the power to manipulate how your supposedly equal council members understand what happened during this conversation." The older woman shrugged, looking thoroughly unconcerned.

"And in turn I give them the power to manipulate how I understand what happened while I was away from them." There was a beat of silence, and then she leaned back in the chair, looking down at me through lidded eyes, tired and uncaring. "We have come to a consensus, Your Majesty, and we would like to offer you a position in our council."

"To do what? Continue to lock away vampires and pretend that it's because you honor them? To lie to your citizens?" The council member narrowed her eyes, her lips pulling tight as she seemed to fight a snappish remark and continue to speak as if she was the only one who understood anything about the world. 

"To give what's left of the inhabitable world a single leader." She paused, reading the challenge in my eyes. "A single leader made of many, not me. A single leader than includes you."

"Don't bullshit me. You want to stop any future rebellions- you couldn't care less about what happens to my people so long as they leave you in power." The words were laced with poison, quiet but deadly and serious and echoing through the room with a note of finality though they wouldn't be left alone.

"Your people? Do you now consider the entire world to belong to you? Even I wouldn't consider ownership of an entire planet, Your Majesty." I jerked up into a sitting position, hands clenching in the sheet thrown over me as my vision narrowed to only include this asshole of a liar.

"My people because I belong to them, something I doubt you'd understand even if you had actually been a part of each species there was for a time like I have. I've been one of you, I've believed your lies, I've been a vampire, I've found the cruelty of the world, I've been dead, and I've understood what it means to not have a home and at the same time have a home everywhere." I wet my lips, glancing down at my lap before once more meeting grey eyes that were so vastly different from those that I had loved. "And I've felt love and hatred and violence and peace, and I've been a political pawn for my entire life. Even now, even as king, I am only worth something as a face, a name, not a person. I have been controlled enough to see when I will only be controlled more, and your deal is shit."

"I stand corrected. You were influenced by your dirty-mouthed predecessor more than I had originally assumed." I all but growled, but the irritatingly healthy-looking council member seemed not to hear the guttural noise. "Your majesty, I have to ask that you reconsider our offer. We will not ask again, and we will not provide help in the future if you ask for it. You have no hope of joining our two races by yourself, so this offer is purely beneficial..."

"Well, it's a good thing we don't plan on joining only two races, then, isn't it?" Her eyes widened, and I fought a satisfied grin. "The answer is no, and it will remain no. I will not betray my people, I will not betray who I belong to, and I sure as hell won't betray Levi, even if he isn't here to beat my ass into next year if I did take your offer."

"This is your final chance, Your Majesty, I implore you-"

"Oh, so now you're desperate? Desperate for my help? Well I'll let you in on a secret- I can't do shit. I'm useless, and without Hanji and Erwin and the rest of the entire kingdom I'd be worthless." There was a pause, and then-

"The Moon Tears were your idea, weren't they? And there would be those to help you in our council, those who could replace your Commander and Doctor..." I barked out a laugh, and I took a grim sense of satisfaction from watching the older woman flinch.

"The answer is no, and it will always be no. Go find yourself a different figurehead- this one's taken."

 

~~~

 

The council member was long gone by the time Hanji returned, fiddling with my IV and insisting I eat a bread roll she had snatched on her way to the room I seemed to be chained to. I made no move to tell her about the offer I was given, and though I could feel the eyes of my guards watching me carefully I ignored them, preferring to pretend like the entire ordeal had never happened.

"The trap is set, and dawn will arrive in a little under an hour. We have human soldiers posted at every outpost they wouldn't be visible in, and a sheltered vampire with each group to help them identify the living from the dead without having to find a pulse. If all goes according to plan-"

"Then Nex is beyond stupid." Hanji quirked an eyebrow at me, pausing mid-pace to meet my eyes, but I resolutely kept my gaze on the ceiling as I continued, deciding that it was my new favorite place to look as I carried out unwanted conversations. "It's a dumb plan, Hanji, you wouldn't even accept the Moon Tears I have, so we don't even know if we have enough of them to make a convincing night sky."

"Sometimes the best plans are those that are seemingly too simple." There was a pause, a sigh, a deep breath, but I already knew what words would come next. "Besides, Eren, we wouldn't take those gems away from you if it would save the world."

"It just might..." I felt rather than saw the warning look the brunette gave me, and I let out a tired sigh. I knew that everyone was being careful not to upset me, but even I was able to look past my own life to see how many we could save if this actually worked. To not share my own resources just because they were linked to Levi...

"We already said no, Eren. Those Moon Tears are yours, and Levi wouldn't want it any other way. They were meant as a peace treaty between yourselves, not a tool to be used in war." She hesitated, shifting her weight before continuing. "I'm not about to let you disrespect his memory like that."

I flinched, falling back to lay my head against the pillow that had once been Levi's. I was always forgetting, always pretending that I was the only one that had cared for the former Vampire King, and I knew it hurt both Hanji and Erwin to have to pretend that that was the truth just because they were scared of fucking up my mental health again. I couldn't even bring myself to tell them that I knew they wouldn't, knew my mind was healthy and I hated it, because I was selfish and I wanted to continue pretending that I was the only one affected by Levi's death.

"I... Sorry. I know you cared for him too... I just... If I could help, even a little bit, even by giving away the Moon Tears-"

"It wouldn't make a difference now, anyway. The trap is set. We've asked to meet with the leader of Nex to work out conditions of a surrender in exchange for Levi's body a small distance away from where we lay the trap, and the plan is to subtly make them think that they're pushing us back when in reality we're leading them to our false night sky. They should've met by now, and the leader of Nex should be feeling a bit antsy since there isn't much time until the sun rises." The room was quiet then save for the forced beating of my metal heart, and I swallowed thickly.

"What... What are the chances they actually show up with... With him?" Hanji sighed, and I almost missed the way her voice cracked when she spoke next.

"We'll attempt to keep his body from entering the trap. If it comes down to it, however... He will... His body will be burnt along with the leader of Nex's." I closed my eyes, not wanting to believe it, not wanting to think about Levi's body being sacrificed in order to make this work, but I knew there was no way out of it. I had known then, the second his eyes had first glazed over, I had known I wouldn't see him again. I had known it, yet still... This hurt. It hurt and my chest was suddenly too small for this stupid false heart that was somehow unbroken even though Levi was dead and his body was going to be burnt to ashes and I was powerless to do anything about it.

We lapsed into silence after that, neither of us wanting nor needing to cause ourselves more pain by talking about what may come to be. I was calling bullshit on every person who had ever told me it was best to talk about what was hurting you, what was upsetting you, because when you do talk you only spread the hurt and no one's happy. Stay silent and maybe you can keep it to yourself, maybe you can shelter those around you...

We were both startled out of our silent musings by the clang of the large doors opening as a small group of people spilled into the large room, their panting breaths echoing and their scrambling feet squeaking on the polished tile before the door slammed shut behind then and everything went quiet. Keeping my gaze fixed on the ceiling had become a defense mechanism, a way to avoid fear and hatred even though I knew I'd end up feeling them anyway, and I once again found myself resolutely pretending that the ceiling was vastly more interesting than what was happening around me. I didn't want to know what had happened, didn't want to know the results of a plan that had been mine when I knew that all the casualties would be my fault, didn't want to know where Levi's body was now.

I heard Hanji stand as hesitant footsteps made their way closer, and I imagined a corralled group poked and prodded to approach us as the unusually quiet scientist standing at the foot of my cot watched them carefully. No one spoke, not yet, and the room was heavy and thick with the tension that kept everyone bound to their silence. The Vampire King was lying exposed, unprotected, hooked up to an IV that was slowly adding lost blood back into his body, and he had made no move to hide when a group of unknowns intruded on his resting place. I knew nothing about these people, nothing about whether they were young or old or armed or unarmed or here to kill me or to make peace...

...all I knew, and all I had to know, was that I couldn't hear their heartbeats. 

"I must ask that none of you come any closer." Hanji's voice was stiff, a tone so rarely used by the brunette I almost laughed. The footsteps stopped, the sound stopped, the tension doubled. I was being sheltered.

"It's fine. They can not kill me." Hanji shifted her weight, and with a heavy sigh I resigned myself to dragging myself into a sitting position and swinging my legs over the side of my cot to face the group of six dead vampires. "Good morning. Or, afternoon. I'm not sure which it is anymore." 

"Afternoon, Your Majesty..." I hummed in acknowledgement, eyeing the group. They were scared, obviously so, and they had referred to me by title though the bastard that had stolen my life along with Levi's had only been able to look at us in disgust. Their appearances alone were enough to tell me the outcome of my trap, and a glance towards the guards that had ushered them into the room confirmed it.

"Your leader is dead." A few of them nodded, but no one moved to speak up. "Are you the next in the line of power?" Once more my words were met with hesitant nods, and it was then that it clicked with me why they were being so reserved. It had nothing to do with their former leader's death, nothing to do with the trap or the Moon Tears or the war... 

They could hear my heartbeat.

"Your Majesty... We were told you had been killed. Are you not... Dead?" I cocked my head, considering the question. I had a pulse, I ate and fed and spoke and thought, but I had been killed. Was I dead? Yes, of course I was... The trap was supposed to be a show of power, but this, if done well...

"Yes. I was killed. But we've found it... Difficult, to say the least, to reassure citizens when they could not hear our pulses." I went quiet, watching, waiting, catching the exact moment they noticed what was wrong with what I had said.

"'Our,' pulses, Your Majesty? We were under the assumption that you were the only one to have been turned by one of us, so no one else in your kingdom should be capable of living as the dead..." I resisted the urge to take a deep breath, refusing to give any clues to my bluff, and simply leaned back slightly, somehow finding it possible to look down on those that stood above me.

"You were also under the assumption that we were powerless against you, but you were incorrect then, too. We have been dead for just as long as you have, but we were the only ones smart enough to use that time to figure out how to kill the dead. Levi was one of the poor, rare few in power that was unable to live dead like us, but our Commander, our strategist, our doctors and scientists and squad leaders in the armies..." I paused, raising a hand to rest above where the stupid, blessed false heart lay in my chest. "Metal can make a man, after all."

I heard Hanji shift behind me, taking a step forward before pausing. No one had told me what to do, what to say, and for the first time since I became so important I was able to make a choice no one could stop. She couldn't interrupt me, couldn't hide me away... She could only trust me, trust that I wasn't completely useless and that I wasn't compete shit at lying.

"Your bluffing. There's no way..." I didn't react, only absently wondering what Mikasa would say if she could see me now- emotionless, tired, dead but still forced to pretend I was living... I imagined she'd be quite miffed that my ears weren't going red with my lies.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. You're welcome to try to kill us, though, and see where that gets you. You've spent a millennia hidden away in those mountains, keeping quiet about your existence, and I have no doubt that the lack of stories about your presence is an indicator of your power." I paused, feigning a yawn that wasn't quite as fake as I had assumed it would be- I seemed to always be tired, lately... "However, we have spent that millennia ruling and leading and fighting and winning wars, spent it interacting with others and never once letting on that so many of us were actually dead, and you can assume that that is an indicator of our power. I'm afraid, despite your best efforts, your time locked away from the world has made you naive." I yawned again, this time unprompted, and realized belatedly that perhaps it was the lazy sleepiness that had seeped into my very core that was making it so easy to lie right now.

"And? What does such a great show of power... What are you trying to prove?" Hanji shifted her weight again, but a glance over my shoulder confirmed that she would remain silent. She looked crazed with maniacal happiness, obviously pleased with how the conversation was going, but I simply sighed at the expression- at least it was something the dead vampires I was speaking to could interpret as confidence in my story.

"That we're more capable than you of remaining in power. We have enough explosives in place to blow apart the mountains you've all been living in and anyone still inside, because let me assure you- when your body is that badly damaged, pieces won't reattach themselves. You will be truly dead, and there will be no coming back." More lies- I wasn't sure we had a single explosive to our names, Humanity's Council having true power over our kingdom for so many years... "However, the living dead are useful. You can perform the jobs that others can't, and you can help us achieve something no one else can. We would rather recruit you than destroy you, and that is what the show of power is for."

There was an idea I had had, back when I first began to weave a story with false cloth, an idea that was more of a question that had never been answered. It was a question I had asked every teacher I had had over the years, every single one that had explained to us why humanity was so little and why it was cramped together in such a small area on Earth. We had ruined the rest of the world, they had said, made it radioactive and dangerous and made the air unbreathable in many places. It was a mess, yet no one had ever said anything to me other than that, other than what we had done to mess up.

All I wanted to know was how we could fix it.

"And? What exactly would you use us for? War? Are all your words of peace simply so that you can finally wipe out humanity?" I frowned, shaking my head.

"This is what I meant when I said you've become naive- humanity is powerful, powerful in ways that you don't understand, and it would be far better to have them as an alley then an enemy. When we fought against them centuries ago we were slaughtered, and I don't wish for that to be the case again. They are the only ones in this world that can stand in the sun's light, and to have such a disadvantage as not being able to do anything for half a day... Well, some wars can be won with just a few hours and the light from the sun. We beat Tueur with humans, and that war was won within just under a week. Humans are efficient, useful, and we will not kill them." When I paused the group in front of me shifted, and one of the few that had remained quiet this entire time stepped forward to speak.

"Tell us, then- what would you use us for, scum?" She wore the same look of disgust that the man who had been sent to kill us wore, her heard tilted up so she was forced to look down her nose to look at me. However... She was short. Slowly, I removed my IV and stood up, pacing forwards so I stood in front of her and suddenly she was looking up, up at me and I was the one looking down, and unconsciously, I think, she took a small step back.

"To clean up our mess. No creature of power should be restricted, no creature of power should be locked away, yet still we've done it to ourselves and no one has bothered to go beyond the cage because we've made the world toxic. No one can venture out without expecting not to come back, and that is what I would use you for." I turned my gaze to the others, raising my voice slightly as I continued. "You would be promised land, twice the size of the area my kingdom has been shut away in all these years, and in exchange you will help us make the world inhabitable once more and promise to keep the peace. War, after all, is one of the many ways we've destroyed ourselves, and it's time we stopped."

"You want us to do your literal dirty work for you? You want us to slave away under masters that are nowhere near rightful, you want us to work for something we could just take?" I said nothing, not even bothering to turn my gaze back to the woman who was spitting insults and negatives at me. "You can not force us to do that, nor anything else for that matter! You're a liar, and if you have a pulse, you're alive!"

I wasn't sure whether I heard the gunshot before or after I realized it was coming, but within a second I was thrown to the ground, a broken wail escaping my throat as I clutched where it had gone through the side of my head. Vaguely I was aware of Hanji rushing forward to try to take the bullet from my head, but I swatted her away, grinding my teeth and forcing myself to push myself off my hands to look up at the group from Nex.

"Asshole." There was silence, only my heavy breathing and a few muttered curses as I let Hanji finally come close enough to stick a pair of tweezers into the wound before it closed up. I was dead, I was obviously dead, but still my heartbeat was loud and unnatural in the quiet room. The glasses-clad vampire let out a triumphant shout when she was finally able to pull the bullet out, and I silently thanked whatever higher beings that were out there that it seemed to just be a regular bullet and not the terrible silver essence shit that had been used to make the blade that had taken my life.

"You're... Dead." I snapped my head up to look at the shocked woman, snarling out my next words as I felt my wound begin to heal.

"No shit, sherlock. I was telling the truth. Do you have any idea how hard it is to lie to when you're me? My ears light up like some kind of fail proof indicator!" I caught Hanji trying to muffle a giggle, and I scowled at her. 

"Of course, Your Majesty..." I sighed, more out of acceptance than relief, and realized that I had minded being called scum less than I had minded being called by this title. It wasn't mine, it never would be, it was just another mask for me to wear...

It made it painfully clear where Levi's idea of what happiness was had come from. All he had wanted was an escape from this, from the power and the lies and the masks and the deaths, and yet he had gone so long without really trying to have a family. And then he had chosen me, and I had given him hell, and I would never know if he ever got a glimpse of what he considered happiness before it was too late. 

"So? You're the group the next in power would be chosen from, so tell me- will you join us?" The room fell silent once more, and I let out a sigh of relief when I felt the wound in my head finish healing. I suppose there was that one benefit of being dead... "Look, we can do this one of two ways. The first is what I've offered you- you get land and we get peace and the world is cleaned up. The second is that we do this ourselves, and you lose your spot in the world forever. However, it is no secret that we are quite exhausted of war, and if it was up to me I'd much prefer the option that requires no fighting at all."

There was hesitance, quiet, but the tension in the room seemed to have slipped away, and I knew they had already made their decision. I stood once more, pulling myself off the floor to meet the eyes of the dead vampire that had done most of the talking while they had been here, and I caught the female that had shot me taking another step back from the corner of my eye.

They were scared, but that wasn't the only thing hidden behind their eyes- they lived in a society where the most powerful ruled, and I had just demonstrated that I was that.

There was respect, too.

"We..." All eyes turned to the member of Nex still holding the gun used to shoot me, watching as she shifted her weight from foot to foot before she finally met my eyes. There was a pause then, and slowly, slowly, she dropped down onto one knee. The others followed her lead, bowing their heads to look at the ground, and it took everything in my power to resist the urge to turn down the sign of recognition of my power. I hated being seen like that, hated being seen as the most powerful even though a year ago it had been something I would've loved... "We accept. Both your deal... and your position of authority."

I said nothing, simply watching as they slowly returned to a standing position, slowly turning and slowly making their way out of the council room. I said nothing, and they left, and Hanji let out a triumphant shout as I fell back onto my cot. I was tired, oh so very tired...

But I had just won a war without losing a single man, and I took comfort in the fact that I knew that had Levi been here... I would've made him proud.

 

~~~

 

Surprisingly, it was harder to win humanity over than it had been to gain the respect of Nex. While it was true there was a good number of people that would follow me, Humanity's Council was strict, authoritative, and what I had told the group of Nex's next leaders was true- they were powerful in ways that vampires never could be. Surrendering to them meant that starting another rebellion would fail miserably, and no one on our side of the mountains could afford another war right now, so we were left with one other option. It would be stupidly hard, we knew that from the beginning, yet still...

We began to try and win Humanity's Council over. 

We made the path through the mountains public, we showed the world the Moon Tears and invited them to join us on our side of it. Vampires began to resume positions in the world of humans, and Humanity's Council was unable to carry out its death sentence for fear that too many humans respected the vampires. Years of teaching them how precious we were had back fired, and now with the knowledge that at any moment humanity could join the side of the vampires and abandon their own government, Humanity's Council was forced to play it safe and let us in unharmed.

We spent weeks doing nothing but traveling from city to city, talking to the people there and, occasionally, after the proper forms had been filled out and we were completely sure that they truly wanted it, turning a human that was tired of living under their Council. It would never be me that bit them, not once, for still we kept it hidden that I was dead, only allowing Mikasa & Crew that special knowledge. Sometimes they'd travel with us, telling stories of their roles in the rebellion, and I'd watch from the shadows and try to hide a smile. 

Yet even as I healed emotionally, my mind remained plagued by nightmares. Almost every morning I was woken from a night terror and forced to rush to a toilet, retching and heaving as my stomach curled with nausea from the images that still haunted me. Levi dying in front of me, imagined scenes of his body burning to ash...

Often Mikasa would find me slouched over the toilet, uncaring of the smell, and we'd spend over an hour simply sitting there. She'd pat my back and say nothing, and I'd heave and retch some more and wish desperately for it to stop. It didn't, though, no matter how much I wished and no matter how hard I tried to rid myself of my nightmares, and it was then that I decided to stop eating. 

It wasn't necessary now, so what was the point? Perhaps my sickness was simply my body unable to handle the human food, and I was just too stupid to see that. It was only logical to stop eating, to at least try to see if that would fix the problem-

"No. You have to eat, Eren." I let out a drawn-out whine at Hanji's words, pushing away the plate in front of me and not minding the fact that I knew I must look like a child.

"No! There's no point, anyway, so-"

"Of course there's a point! So eat, you idiot, before it's too late and the kid turns!" The room fell silent at her words, only the slight buzzing of the hotel's air conditioning and the rare car outside in whatever city we were in breaking the quiet. 

"The..." I looked down, down at my stomach that had made me sick every morning, back up at the brunette that was forcing me to eat human food even though the only point to that would be if there was a chance I was...

"It... It didn't die, Eren. You never lost it." I inhaled sharply, looking back down at my stomach and raising a hand to ghost over it as my eyes began to prick with tears.

"This... This is the real reason you gave me a working heart, isn't it?" She said nothing, the answer left unsaid, and for the first time since Levi's death I began to cry, loud and unrestrained, sobbing and wailing and unsure if I was terrified or thrilled or just desperate to have my mate back.

That night, I began to create a mobile made of Moon Tears, and it didn't matter.


	50. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we part with this story, but not before greeting someone new and someone old (but for all intents and purposes has been born anew, with a chance to be happy he didn't really see coming).

Eren's POV

 

"Papa! Lookit!" The words were followed closely by a high-pitched giggle, and I smiled softly as I watched the small boy try to recapture the moth that had escaped his hold when he had tried to show me. He jumped and twirled and laughed and seemed to dance with the night as all the stars watched, the wind laughing when he came to a sudden halt before sneezing abruptly. His hair was a mess, tufts of silken black hair sticking up all over and his eyes hidden by the mop of hair that wasn't in a much worse state of disarray than it usually was, and even in the dark his skin glowed slightly from its pale complexion. 

Pale, but not unable to meet the sun's light.

"Careful, silly- we can't have you catching a cold just because you insisted on seeing the stars. What would we tell Aunt Mikasa?" The young child laughed, pure and free and unburdened by the heavy troubles of the world, and I grinned as he stumbled in his haste to run back to me to stand close.

"I'd say it's all your fault, and then she'd pull your ear and give me soup!" I mocked hurt, going down on one knee so that I was closer in height to the five-year-old.

"You'd be that mean to your poor old Papa?" Small hands with chubby fingers came up to tug on my ears, and I laughed as I tried not to imagine the streaks of grime he was probably leaving behind.

"You're not poor! You own the whole world! Aunt Mikasa says it's bad to lie- the shadow monster might come to eat the liars!" I raised my hands to wrap around the ones on my ears, letting my face fall serious and leaning in as if I was about to let him in on the secrets of the whole world.

"Aunt Mikasa is just upset that your ears don't turn red when you lie like mine do- and that you're good at it, too!" I moved one of my hands to poke his nose with my last words, and the action was met with a giggle. "And someday, you'll wear the big crown Uncle Erwin makes me wear, and you'll be glad for it."

"Glad that I can make Aunt Mikasa think you were the one who stole the cookies?" I laughed, pushing down his arms gently so that my ears were released and his hands fell back at his sides.

"Yes- glad that you can fool Aunt Mikasa and the whole world about who stole the cookies." I paused, considering the look of wonderment on the face of the boy in front of me, and then without warning scooped him up and stood up to spin him around, smiling when he broke into giggles again and all thoughts of the future were chased away by his smile, bright and innocent and truly happy.

Someday he would be king, it was true, and I'd step down and let him rule as I waited for an opportune moment to rid myself from this world. Before then, though, I'd finish cleaning up the earth, and when he was king he could believe that everything had always been beautiful. Humanity's Council had become less and less heard from over the past few years, no one remembering to remember them and no one caring either way, and there was no one specific day I could mark as the point when all of humanity looked to me for guidance. 

Nex was disbanded, their members blending in with society with metal hearts as they served their time working to make the rest of the world inhabitable for the next generation, and after a year of deliberation Erwin began a program that recruited humans that wished to help with that cause. Most just wore protective gear, sheltering them from the toxic fumes and dangerous environments, however... There were the rare few that had requested a more permanent solution, and in doing so they gave up both their humanity and their lives. 

We never did go public with the news of the dead living amongst us, but no one bothered to keep it a secret, either. The news had spread slowly, freely, and the unhurried manner it had been presented in made it seem like less of a big deal, and we avoided a riot. The news had, after all, come at the same time as my pregnancy had been announced, and who didn't want to hear about the Vampire King who would birth a human child? It would be a miracle, a freak of nature, a mystery...

...a silver-eyed boy named after the father he would never meet, a boy who found joy in the simplest things, a boy who was dirty and happy and perhaps everything Levi hadn't been. He was brave, though, fearless and protective of those he cared about, and made no effort to hide his displeasure when someone or something irritated him. He was sharp, clever, a fast learner... He found happiness in his family, in those that he loved, in living a simple life when possible even though he was a prince, and it was him that taught me exactly what Levi had wanted.

"Papa! St-stop!" His words were broken with laughter, with joy, and I spun him around twice more before I clutched him to my chest and fell backwards onto the ground. "Papaaa! Lemme go!" 

He squirmed in my hold, still giggling, and I squeezed him tighter and nuzzled his hair before releasing him. He sat up, not bothering to get off my stomach, and I watched him silently as he calmed his breathing from laughing so hard. When he locked eyes with me he smiled, a small smile this time, shy and unsure as to the reason of my gaze, and I returned the smile without hesitance, reaching up to cradle his cheek.

"Levi..." He leaned his head into my hand at the name, at his name, silver eyes glinting in the light of the stars that I had come to see only as tears that had once belonged to the moon. "I love you..." 

The words were met with silence at first, only the low hum of the night and the whisper of the wind and the call of guards reporting in at their barracks coloring the night, but it didn't last for long. The shy smile grew into a glowing one, a proud and a knowing one, and the silver eyes watching me squinted smaller with silent laughter.

"I know..." He paused, raising both his hands to my one hand and closing his eyes as he began speaking once more, smile wide. "I love you, too."

 

FINIS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's been nice, friends. I'm sorry for the hearts I broke and the tissues I cost you, but I hope that overall you enjoyed this story. Thank you for sticking with it, although it was long and angsty and had a huge whopping hiatus halfway through. I'll be going on vacation for a couple of weeks, but after that I plan on posting a fate/future AU (ereri of course) titled Not to Know, so look out for it!


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